{"id":1290,"date":"2020-01-27T12:39:10","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T02:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/?page_id=1290"},"modified":"2020-01-28T11:35:06","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T01:35:06","slug":"six-conditions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/index.php\/six-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual Practice: Six Conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Before we embark on a spiritual path, we must prepare to do\nso. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written in relation to meditation, there is a classic\nmeditation manual by the great eighth-century scholar Kamalashila that is\nsurprisingly relevant today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His Stages of Meditation<\/em> elucidates six conditions,\nor advice, to be considered before beginning practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It directs the secular meditator to consider \u201cpractice\u201d in a\nmore holistic context, wherein adjustments to one\u2019s worldview, attitude, and\nlifestyle are as important as the state of mind cultivated through practice and\nthe technical instructions on how to meditate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, with the onset of climate change,\nKamalashila\u2019s advice for contemplation could be adopted by those hoping to live\nmore sustainably on our planet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The six conditions are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) Seek a conducive environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) \u200bLive\nsimply with few needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3) \u200bBe\nsatisfied with what you have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(4) \u200bAvoid\nbeing too busy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(5) \u200bLive\nan ethical life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(6) \u200bGive\nup pleasure-driven pursuits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) Seek a Conducive Environment<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who thinks their external environment plays no part\nin internal well-being need only sit in a cathedral or temple, or gaze at a\nsunset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamalashila lists the elements of a suitable atmosphere for\nmeditation as safety; food and clothing; freedom from disease, malevolent\nforces, and toxic people; access to friendship with like-minded,\nwell-intentioned people; and quiet with few distractions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety is primary\u2014without it, the nervous system can never\nfully process information, learn, and evolve. It follows that we\u2019d want to be\nphysically comfortable and supported by a like-minded community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to finding a suitable place to meditate, it\nmight not be possible to go on retreat, but whether it\u2019s your local dharma\ncenter or a corner of your bedroom, the environment influences the mind, so\nbegin to envision and create a sacred space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) Live Simply with Few Needs<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is the heart of the dilemma between a contemplative\nculture, in which simplicity and minimalism are cornerstones of well-being, and\nour consumerist culture, in which we are addicted to chasing the high of\naccumulating but are suffocated by all our stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLive simply\u201d is not a recommendation to return to a\nhunter-gatherer society; that\u2019s neither realistic nor necessary, but modern\nlife could be radically improved if we adopted an ethos of simplicity,\nparticularly if we hope to benefit from meditation and proceed along a\nspiritual path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the shift asks us to discern between what we need\nversus what we want, and then to work with our impulses of greed, yearning, and\nfear that drive us to thoughtless consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3) Be Satisfied with What You Have<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In Western culture we\u2019re influenced by media and commercials\nthat prey on our fantasies and insecurities, convincing us that if we buy the\nright car, go on vacation, or meet the right partner, we\u2019ll be happy. When it\ndoesn\u2019t work out, we are offered new enticements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, Buddhist science sees inner satisfaction as a\nbasic capacity or skill of the mind that can be developed through introspective\npractice independent of external circumstance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By systematically turning attention inward and cultivating\nemotional balance, we can consciously recalibrate the nervous system toward\nsafety and gratitude and away from its negativity bias. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we exercise this shift, we become less preoccupied by\nwhat we lack and more focused on appreciating what we have, savoring while\nletting go, and can redirect our inner resources to meditative, eudaemonic\n(flourishing by way of pursuing virtue), altruistic pursuits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(4) Avoid Being Too Busy<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Digital overload, time-is-money multitasking,\nbigger-is-better culture, and how we\u2019ve come to be ashamed of not being busy\nare ways we diminish our psychic inner space, distracting us at best and\noverwhelming us at worst. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stay busy as a pain-avoidance strategy, to tune out our\ninner doubts that we are worthless, unlovable, and alone, and that the world is\nunsafe. Busyness is an addiction like any other\u2014an impulse of escape\u2014yet it is\nprized, privileged, and reinforced in modern culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sickness of paradigm underpinning consumer capitalism,\nmaterialism, and nihilism keeps us in an orbit of self-perpetuating\ndissatisfaction and compulsive fear, robbing us of the inner space to access\nour inherent goodness, which can only be found when we shift from doing to\nbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(5) Live an Ethical Life<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The interrelationship between karmic causality, ethical\nactions, and psychological liberation will grow apparent as we progress on our spiritual\njourney. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our actions\u2014lifestyle\u2014cannot be isolated from our life and\nhow we feel, see, experience, and relate to the world and the people in it. We\nare all interconnected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you enter a traditional ashram or meditation center,\nyou are asked up-front to refrain from killing, stealing, lying, being sexually\ninappropriate, and clouding your mind with intoxicants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an assumption that the way we live either supports\nor contradicts our aspiration for well-being and liberation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we become disciplined and restrain hedonic impulses, we\ngrow sensitive and concerned about our actions, which has a positive effect on\nour state of mind, abating lethargy, restlessness, grasping, hostility, and\nself-doubt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As these afflictions subside, greater perceptual clarity\nbecomes possible\u2014like water in which the sediment settles when the glass is no\nlonger agitated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That clarity fosters insight into the nature of things\u2014or\nawakening\u2014making ethics not only relevant to mental well-being but a critical\nfoundation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Buddhist perspective, an ethical life is not about\nblind faith within the dogma of religion, rather it\u2019s the rational outgrowth of\nconsequential thinking within a psychologically minded culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

(6) Give Up Pleasure-Driven Pursuits<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The ancient Greek Stoics distinguished between two orienting\nambitions in life: hedonia<\/em> and eudaemonia<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hedonia involves a life propelled by what Sigmund\nFreud named the \u201cpleasure principle\u201d\u2014often involving indulgence and\ngratification of the five senses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eudaemonia is the pursuit of virtue, meaning, and\npurpose, each for their own sake, which leads to a flourishing of the mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider what it would look and feel like to be driven not\nby pleasure but purpose, finding meaning and satisfaction in living a good life\nfor its inherent worth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During my trips to India I was humbled to meet people of\nlimited finances\u2014rickshaw drivers, cooks, and tailors\u2014who derive satisfaction\nfrom treating their customers well and performing their service with dignity,\nin contrast to the wealthy and often miserable CEOs I\u2019ve encountered in my\ntherapy practice who have confused wealth with happiness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must go beyond capitalism, scientism, and nihilism if we want to reconnect with spirit and pursue meditation [and a spiritual path] the way it was intended\u2014for the development and liberation of consciousness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Excerpted and lightly adapted (to suit the context of this website) from Neale, Miles. Gradual Awakening<\/em>. Sounds True. Kindle Edition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Six
Reflection: Six conditions for a spiritual path — (1) having a conducive environment; (2) living simply with few needs; (3) being satisfied with what one has; (4) avoiding being too busy; (5) living an ethical life; and (6) giving up pleasure-driven pursuits.<\/strong>
(Based on Kamalashila)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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