I have been writing a book for a few years, now with an end likely in sight. I am including here a proposed title and table of contents, followed by a draft of the introduction.
Table of Contents
Peace and Healing Through Right Mindfulness
A Practical, Middle-Way Approach to Timeless Teachings
John S. Wendt, M.D.
Introduction
Chapter 1—Mindfulness Meditation
Chapter 2—The Quest for Non-Identity
Chapter 3 – The Ever-Changing Brain
Chapter 4 – The Scientific Buddha
Chapter 5—Intention
Chapter 6—Awake
Chapter 7 – The Felt Body Sense
Chapter 8—Patience in All Things
Chapter 9—Empathy and Compassion
Chapter 10—The Child Within
Chapter 11– Equanimity
Chapter 12 –Approaching Jhanas
(Chapter 13 – We of the Earth—likely deferred—maybe another book)
Introduction
This book is intended to promote well-being through the practice of right mindfulness meditation. My expectation is that it will be of benefit to both starting and seasoned meditators. By now you are probably aware of the term, mindfulness, which in recent years has been discussed extensively in books and articles. Although the foundation of mindfulness rests largely, but certainly not exclusively, with Buddhist philosophy, it is by no means necessary to be a Buddhist in order to benefit immensely from a right mindfulness practice. On the one hand, many writings about mindfulness take a generic and secular approach, where the richness and wisdom of underlying Buddhist philosophy may be missed. On the other hand, many books and articles address the concept of enlightenment in Buddhist terms, which I regard as a far reach for most of us to the point where we may give up the idea of pursuing mindfulness meditation at all! I thus am attempting here a middle ground approach, having practiced both neurology for over 50 years and mindfulness meditation for almost 40 years and in the meantime having read several books and many articles on Buddhist philosophy and psychology, to integrate my personal experience with pearls of wisdom from what I’ve read. As a neurologist, I also am integrating aspects of contemplative neuroscience into this discussion. What follows is a preview of this work:
Everyone wants happiness—no one wants suffering. So states His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Let us not dismiss this statement as a simple truism. Most often we tend to consider happiness in the setting of conditions and situations. An enticing romance and a happy marriage can bring us happiness. So can a satisfying career and a state of good health. An entertaining event—vacation, movie, dining out, etc.—can bring us momentary happiness. But nothing lasts forever.
The first time we visit the Grand Canyon, we likely will be mesmerized by the grandeur of the scene (wow—what a view!). We are startled in a very pleasant way. There is a surge of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, to a region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens that is associated with this pleasant state. If we view the Grand Canyon a second time, very likely it will remain a pleasant experience but perhaps less startling and with a lesser surge in dopamine. With our tenth viewing maybe our response will be, “Oh, that’s nice,” with a much milder surge in dopamine.
When we are thinking about happiness, usually we are not considering its counterpart, suffering. If we have high expectations in visiting the Grand Canyon and it rains, if we’re not prepared for that eventuality, then we are likely going to be disappointed, along with our nucleus accumbens that did not receive its expected surge of dopamine. When the vacation, sporting event, concert or dinner is over, there may be nothing more to sustain that elevated level of dopamine, so what then? For a while we can enjoy the memories, but then they too begin to fade. That surge in dopamine simply cannot be maintained under these circumstances. Then we may suffer, perhaps not dramatically so, but with maybe a general sense of unsatisfactoriness, which is what Buddhists refer to as Dukkha, which can further be characterized as perpetual thirst. Our nucleus accumbens is like a sports team evaluating its players: it’s not, what have you done for me, but rather, what have you done for me lately? Here we have not even considered a dramatic reversal in fortune that can lead to intense suffering, such as the loss of a loved one, or the suffering that is the residue of earlier life trauma.
The Buddhist formula for elimination of suffering makes a certain degree of sense but is extreme: it requires an attitude of non-attachment—non-attachment to things, concepts, people and even a sense of self. The basic formula is encapsulated in what are called the Four Noble Truths:
· There is Suffering
· The Cause of Suffering is Grasping and Clinging
· The Way out of Suffering is Letting Go of Grasping and Clinging
· The Means of Letting Go Is Through Practice
Enlightenment occurs in the setting of deep caring for and helping other sentient beings but without the emotional baggage that causes suffering. Arriving at that place in our minds is a tall order, to say the least, and one that I am proposing only partially, not entirely, in this book. I will leave the journey toward absolute enlightenment to others. My intent in offering this writing is rather adopting the wisdom of Buddhist teachings in a manner readily accessible to all of us, such that we may continue to live our customary lives, not sacrificing attachments we cherish, but with the wisdom to enhance our happiness and with less suffering.
The happiness that the Dalai Lama is referring to is lasting happiness, that which arises from an internal wellspring of peace of mind—that which occurs from within ourselves independent of external circumstances. Peace of mind while preserving our attachments is certainly not an absolute: we’re going to continue to experience periods of suffering with the vicissitudes of life, but hopefully much less so, and with greater flourishing, as we progress along a certain contemplative journey. The nucleus accumbens correspondingly will be more satisfied.
A simple definition of mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose nonjudgmentally, to this very moment. It means suspending opinions, suppositions and prejudices of any kind in the service of observing things just as they are without any filters. Some of the literature on mindfulness emphasizes the complexity of attempting to define it, but it may be that the complexity simply reflects all the different contexts in which mindfulness can apply. For example, we might generally think of mindfulness as a benevolent exercise, but consider also that a sniper might be more effective in killing people with a mindful approach to doing so.
The context for mindfulness thus being crucial, for our purposes it is helpful to apply the term, right mindfulness, as the proper approach to a beneficial mindfulness practice. Right mindfulness is one component of what is called the eightfold path of ethical Buddhist precepts. Implicit in right mindfulness is the underlying motivation to relieve suffering for all living beings, starting with ourselves (or perhaps our loved ones if initially approaching ourselves is difficult) and extending then that motivation to others as well.
The Eightfold Path
(1) Wisdom – (Right view, Right intention)
(2) Ethical conduct – (Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood)
(3) Concentration – (Right effort, Right mindfulness, Right concentration)
Note that all elements of the eight-fold path are interdependent; all are important precepts to live by. As such, right mindfulness is to be viewed not as a tool for achieving something but rather as a way of life. To remain on the path of right mindfulness is to remain on the path of happiness.
My own introduction to mindfulness occurred when seeing a psychologist, looking for ways to deal with the stress of having leg spasticity associated with cerebral palsy and some difficulty with walking. One thing the psychologist suggested was reading a book called “Full Catastrophe Living” by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. Dr. Kabat-Zinn, a molecular biologist by training, studied yoga and meditation in Asia and subsequently developed a curriculum in what is called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. So I read the book, then reread it, and then after about the third reading began to get the gist of what Dr. Kabat-Zinn was talking about. I started practicing mindfulness meditation on my own and have been doing it ever since. Also, then, in my neurology practice I began recommending Full Catastrophe Living to many of my patients. Realizing that asking patients to read a book and start doing a practice on their own is quite challenging, I then had an opportunity in 2004 to take professional training courses to teach the eight-week course in MBSR, and taught several such courses since then, as well as offering free monthly meditation gatherings at my office. After retirement from active neurology practice I have continued to offer meditation sittings to neighbors living in the condominium complex where we live in Seattle.
The journey now to unfold will encompass a further general description of mindfulness meditation and overview of Buddhist philosophy, a discussion on letting go of rigid features of our held identity, a primer on relevant aspects of contemplative neuroscience, controversies on notions of self and reality, and then followed by the heart of this work—what I identify as the Six Pillars of Right Mindfulness practice:
· Right Intention
· Attention/Awareness
· The Felt Body Sense
· Patience in All Things
· Compassion
· Equanimity
There will then be concluding chapters on my limited exposure to jhanas and how my meditation practice is being transformed. Throughout I will draw on my personal experience of mindfulness practice integrated with the wisdom found in the works of contemplatives in this field. Please read on and enjoy! (That is, when the book is published!)