Running with the Mind of Meditation: Lessons for Training Body and Mind

Book Review: Running with the Mind of Meditation: Lessons for Training Body and Mind by Sakyong Mipham  (Kindle Edition 2012)

This is a great book for runners, meditators, and especially for those who do both. Sakyong Mipham is a Tibetan-American lama steeped in two cultures. He has also been trained in the Shambhala tradition that venerates the path of the warrior and recommends athletic development, thus his training in martial arts, archery, dance, and horsemanship.

He took up running much later but has come to be a long-distance runner and has run quite a few marathons. He has also practiced meditation his whole life from a young age. He sees meditation as the chief means of training the mind and running as a method of training the body so the book serves as an analysis of the integration of mind and body training methods. He advises: “Meditate with delight and run with joy.” He appears to be a very disciplined fellow.

Sakyong Mipham relates many personal experiences and tales like running before dawn in India where one must be present to possible encounters with elephants, cobras and leopards, running in the high elevation of Tibet, in the wilds of Scotland, and in various parts of the US and Canada. He sees running and meditation as mutually supportive.

“When we run, we strengthen our heart, remove stagnant air, revitalize our nervous system, and increase our aerobic capacity.”

Running and meditation both support health, strength, and flexibility of mind and body. The stresses of modern society, such as sedentary time due to travel, work, and electronic pursuits and other stresses such as pollution point to a need for physical and mental strength, flexibility, and overall health.

He talks about his early running experiences beginning around 2003 with his trainer Misty Cech. As for everyone else it was a struggle in the beginning and one needs to “build a base” which is simply running enough without overdoing it in order to strengthen muscles, tendons, and bone integrity so that the body becomes used to it. My own first few runs are memorable for calf pain and quick loss of breath. I was amazed that people could run as far as they could (I still am) but improvement and relaxation did come. Building a base takes about two years, say doctors, and my own experience confirms this as well. He compares this to meditation – defined as “the act of familiarizing your mind with what you want it to do.” “The bones and tendons of the mind are mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness is the mind’s strength, and awareness is its flexibility.” In one aspect, meditation is simply training the mind as running is one means to train the body. So, he says, ‘building the base’ has to occur with meditation as well – in order to get the mind in shape. He says that when learning meditation it is good to have coaching especially in regards to posture, attitude, obstacles, and antidotes. He says that movement is good for the body and stillness is good for the mind. He thinks that a balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems can be attained through this movement and stillness, thus relieving stress. 

The importance of breathing to both meditation and running is emphasized. Connecting to the breath is perhaps the best way to be present. Breath can be a problem when one begins running but this usually improves as one learns to relax and breathe deeper. He gives instructions for meditation using the breath as focus and other useful advice.

The relationship between breath and mind is important. Tibetans say the breath is like a horse and the mind is like a rider. The horse, or breath, must first be tamed, but ultimately it is the rider, or mind, that is tamed. Mongolians and Tibetans depict this relationship of breath and mind in the idea of windhorse (lungta). In the depictions, above the saddle is a jewel. The jewel is the mind, and more specifically the enlightened mind.

The author suggests that running does not tame the horse (breath) but exhausts it into a more settled state. He says the peace from meditation is more cumulative, while that from running is incidental. Even so, the two activities are usually complementary.

He discusses the difficulty of beginning to run and making it a habit, the possibility of overdoing it and losing interest. Gradualness is the key. He suggests interspersing periods of walking and running for beginners. He notes (as I confirm) that the early part of a run is often the most difficult. This likely has much to do with the body adjusting from a relaxed to an active mode. In contrast, with meditation one is typically slowing down the thinking mind. 

Sakyong Mipham emphasizes the importance of motivation in both running and meditation. He talks about types of motivation – from without and from within, - and levels of motivation. Pacing and setting reasonable goals can be important to running. He sees a balance between challenging oneself and not overdoing it as important for runners. He also talks about short-term and long-term motivation. These should be balanced as well so that even if one’s short-term motivation weakens one can still think in terms of long-term motivation. Meditation can be a means to watch how such motivations can change in very short time periods.

He tells of his first marathon run in Toronto. Apparently, he bought new socks and this was not such a good idea. He finished the race but acquired a large and painful blister through most of the race. At 12 miles he decided to pop the blister by stamping hard on it. He describes his meditation on pain and finally finishing and getting his bloody foot fixed up.

Next he goes into the Shambhala warriorship tradition which is a method of training in courage without aggression. Training is given in four phases, called the ‘four dignities’ – tiger, lion, garuda, and dragon. The result is a strong windhorse.

“The Shambhala teachings present goodness as our base and splendidness as our natural state of being. These qualities are neither spiritual nor worldly but inherent – there to be uncovered.”

The tiger phase refers to cultivating mindfulness which leads to contentment. This is the phase of developing technique. Next is the lion which represents the joy of having developed the technique and discipline. Next is the garuda where newly-found skills and abilities appear and new challenges are taken on. Finally, there is the dragon which represents mastery and the ability to see beyond personal goals to benefitting others.

Detailing the tiger phase he notes that gentleness is the key to mindfulness. Building a base and developing and perfecting technique are the work. He notes that there are several different running techniques but that he prefers feeling connectivity from the navel up through his central core leading to mouth and nostrils. This is a focus in meditation as well. Running from the center is also recommending in “Chi Running” which is the technique that I have come to prefer. He gives his own technique and warns against slumping forward too much. He also recommends (as do other runners) landing in the center of the foot. He mentions the technique of counting breaths, as in meditation. I have never done this but I routinely do mantras in rhythm with the breath while running.

He discusses the effects of feelings/emotions/sensations on both meditation and particularly on running. He notes that much of the components of our feelings are mental and often mental discomfort is mistaken for physical discomfort. Mindfulness of how one feels is important. Dealing effectively with injuries takes mindfulness throughout as one needs to regularly assess one’s condition, healing, and readiness. Indeed, sensible pain and injury management is important to any exercise routine and it gets more important as one ages. He uses the term “embodiment’ to describe a synchronization of body and mind that he also equates with the egolessness of windhorse.

He discusses the benefits and pitfalls of treadmills and how they have helped him since he travels a lot. He discusses music while working out as a distraction yet it seems to work for lots of people. I actually like to read on an elliptical or a fast walk on a treadmill. He criticizes our half-hearted multi-tasking and recommends being fully engaged in our activities. As for me, I don’t mind multi-tasking.

Success in meditation or exercise can be simply that the action is sustained and practiced regularly. He mentions that the sluggishness we often feel at the beginning of exercise is not only due to the stagnation of muscles but also to the stagnation of organs – as in Chinese medicine. Exercising speeds metabolism and processing of toxins. Meditation may help us process our mental baggage and societal imagery.

He contrasts an attitude of gentleness with one of aggression and concludes that gentleness leads to a more optimal edge to both body and mind. Gentleness implies more flexibility, understanding, and care than aggression. Stress and worry are mental factors that can affect us physically as well. Meditation, in this sense, can be a means to train ourselves to hold less worry and stress.

He mentions yoga and walking as complementary to running. This is rather obvious as stretching and light exercise can keep one tuned up for more strenuous exercise.

He emphasizes the importance of optimism and confidence in both meditation and running. In meditation one is optimistic about the power of the mind. In running one is optimistic about the power of the body. He notes the importance of staying in touch with one’s confidence.

“With confidence, our activity becomes a path.”

As a tiger phase practice, he gives a technique of contemplation meditation where one investigates one’s motivation(s) for running.

The lion phase is characterized by enjoying the results of one’s hard work and training. Effort gives way to ease. This phase involves “panoramic awareness” where we focus on our surroundings having thoroughly trained in technique. Releasing struggle allows us to tune into the world around us.

In the Shambhala tradition and in Tibetan Buddhism in general, the natural state of our mind is said to be one of “basic goodness.” He posits a similar natural condition of the body as “basic healthiness.”  “… the mind is raw material. It is like tofu – neutral and pliable.”

Dealing with pain can be a part of running. A big part of life is pain therefore we should learn how to relate to it as best we can.

“When we are able to work with pain and understand it, life becomes twice as interesting. Relating to pain makes us fearless and happy.”

Pain should be acknowledged and accepted for what it is instead of overly focusing on it and reacting overly negatively to it.

“… happiness is the natural screen saver of the mind.” He says that “happiness is not a goal, but a by-product of mentally and physically healthy activities.”

He associates egolessness with happiness and lightness, and ego with heaviness and restriction. He discusses pride as a part of the lion phase and notes the five kinds of pride given in the Buddhist tradition: pride from position (family), pride from wealth, intellectual pride (knowledge), pride of youth/beauty/prowess, and pride from thinking you do not have pride. The antidote to pride is humbleness and good humor is also helpful in trimming pride. Healthy pride is simply confidence. A lion phase contemplation is given which focuses on feeling fortunate, grateful, and content. He demonstrates the value of this cultivation for everyone – including the poor, sick, and dying. Simply being content and grateful for the present moment can be a very powerful outlook.

The garuda phase is called ‘outrageous’ since this is when one challenges oneself beyond one’s comfort zone. A garuda run may involve new location or fresh stimuli. It may involve surpassing previous limitations. In meditation this may be an all day meditation or a long retreat. Strangely, after reading about this ‘garuda run’ I actually did one. I went out for a run and planned to go so far but I felt good near the end so I extended it and ended up going twice as far as I had planned and significantly farther than I had ever run before. I kept thinking about the garuda. The power of expectation? Perhaps. He says this garuda phase can help one break out of a rut. He describes his own creation of a 32-mile ultra-marathon in the high elevations of northern Colorado with 1000 ft differences in elevation. To me, that seems pretty outrageous.

The wings of the garuda represent focused mindfulness and panoramic awareness. The garuda symbolizes balance and freedom from hope and fear. Hope arises from not encountering what we want. Fear arises from encountering what we don’t want. Pain and pleasure can lead to avoidance and obsession. How we handle them is very important. Due to our habits in handling pain and pleasure we often switch from hope to fear and back. This cycle of hope and fear can undermine our lives, thus it is important to free ourselves from it when we can. Fear is based on attachment. Scholars are often attached to their knowledge while athletes are often attached to their bodily fitness. We all have hope and fear. The goal is to minimize its influence. Garuda is also associated with freshness and spontaneity. My own garuda run exhibited spontaneity. I did have another garuda run, or rather outrageous run of sorts but this one not so successful. I went out to run on cool day after not much sleep and the wind blowing against me got the better of me so I went far less than my minimum level and just gave it up. Felt bad for a short time then just got over it, no big deal. Sometimes the equanimity is just not there and the conditions get the better of you. Running in the heat is a problem for me as well. Maybe if I took water.

As another possible garuda phase method he mentions trail running. He says it is great for core training as there are more obstacles to overcome and flexibility to develop. I have not done this yet so maybe something to look forward to. Better scenery might also be a benefit of trail running. He relates experiences of running up and down big hills and running in extreme weather. He also relates a run where he and another runner experienced meditational clarity while running in the wilds of Scotland. He thinks that mind and body were in balance that day so their internal beauty allowed them to experience external beauty.

Meditation in the garuda phase emphasizes mindfulness itself as the object of meditation. Having discovered the qualities of a state of mindfulness during previous meditation training, one focuses on getting into that mode and holding to that state. The idea is to not be threatened or seduced by external distractions. Interestingly, he discusses boredom as being influenced by self-worth and pride. He says that in meditation or exercise we do not consider our activity worthy of our attention. The boredom related to pride can be when we become impatient and annoyed about having to wait for something. He says that cultivating attitudes of appreciation and self-worth are more important than ambition. Ambition and goals disappear in the garuda phase. He notes that one can take the outrageousness too far and that it should be grounded in one’s previous training. He gives a contemplation of love and kindness for the garuda phase. Letting go of self-centeredness is a key to happiness for oneself and focusing on kindness and the happiness of others is a key to letting go of self-centeredness.

The dragon represents deep purpose, our secret or innermost level, says Sakyong Mipham. He says dragon also symbolizes inexpressible power, brilliance, and the profundity of mind.

“The dragon embodies all the lessons of the tiger, lion, and garuda – mindful, perky, and in balance. Thus the dragon arises as coincidence and auspiciousness.”

In the Shambhala tradition the dragon represents the recognition of nonconceptual wisdom, referred to as the joining of heaven and earth. In this phase, he sees runs and meditations as focusing on what is most important, most beneficial – compassion, caring for others, and thinking beyond ourselves. He talks about the ‘dragon’s breath’ as being a special way to relate to breath, air, or wind. The yogic winds, or pranas are invoked here.

“The power of the dragon is intention. The dragon knows that with full, unbridled attention we can bring goodness and benefit into any activity.”

He mentions two approaches to breathing meditation – the gentle and the coarse. The gentle is appropriate to sitting meditation while coarse breathing is the method of vigorous exercise and requires control. He recounts an experience of running in the high altitude of Tibet where he was winded quickly and came to understand and appreciate the limitations of breath.

The contemplation given for the dragon phase is about compassion and selflessness. The goal is egolessness and bringing the intention to the best of intentions, that of benefiting others. Another goal of this contemplation is to discover that the self is an illusion.

The next section is about windhorse, representative of the state of egolessness. He talks about having conversations while running and how they can be revealing and without preconceptions. I have only had a few conversations while running and they seemed like regular ones to me so I am not sure I followed that part. He contrasts the bluntness of Western conversational style with the art of conversation among Tibetans. He talks about a run for peace he organized that ended at the Great Dharmakaya Stupa of Colorado. He talks about running for fund-raisers and charities as well. He talks about runners having an ethos of optimism and exertion and perhaps a connection to the life force energy that is windhorse.

“The windhorse phase is realizing we are all gifted; we all have something to offer.”

The windhorse contemplation is on basic goodness. He sort of refers to windhorse as the energy of basic goodness. It is “basic” because it is fundamentally who we area and “good” “in that we are complete, intact, and whole.”

Sakyong Mipham finishes out the book with some recounts of his marathon runs and with a poem called “Freedom” which elegantly expresses for him the bliss of running.

Overall, this is a great book with useful insights. There are better books on running techniques such as “Chi Running” but this one is unique in that it also encompasses meditation.

 

 

 

Musonius Rufus - On How to Live

Book Review: Musonius Rufus – On How to Live -  translated by Ben White (Ozimandias Publishing – Kindle Edition 2012)

Musonius Rufus was a Roman philosopher of the first century C.E. He was strongly Stoic as were many philosophers of the Roman Empire. He was said to be a contemporary and friend of Apollonius of Tyana, teacher of Epictetus, was exiled by Nero, and returned to Rome after Nero’s death. As a Stoic he was practical-minded and valued virtue and hard work.

Subjects of the text include “the good”, law, women, resilience, leadership, work, obedience, food, true wealth, and old age. The translator notes in the prologue that there are basically four ways or fields of study where we gather and pass on knowledge of how to live: philosophy, history, literature (or oral tradition), and religion.

Gaius Musonius Rufus practiced an ethical philosophy where he was willing to die for his principles in the tradition of Socrates and indeed he was imprisoned and then exiled by Nero. He suffered derision from his peers. He preached peace to the armies of Vespasian. He was one of few men to protest against the violence of the gladiator games. After his death he was honored as a man of great principles and courage. His views on sexuality may seem a bit harsh in modern times but philosophers of the time often stressed control of sexual excesses and there were also biases of the culture. All the fragments of words and dialogues of Musonius’s teachings were compiled from his students and other men of the time, not being compiled in one volume until the 19^th century. 

 His section on “The Good” is an exposition on the excellence of virtue, hard work, honor, and self-honesty. As in most of the ancient philosophy schools he advocates conduct in accord with teachings:

“Philosophy only profits you if your conduct is in harmony with sound teaching.”

Musonius admired the strict training methods of the Spartans and utilizes stories from Sparta such as the one about Lycurgus the Spartan who lost an eye to a malicious man. He was then given the ability to pick the man’s punishment. He chose to take the man and train him, converting him from a “violent creature” to a “reasonable man, a good citizen.” Musonius considers that humans were born with an inclination towards virtue and that this should be fostered. People generally consider themselves to be intelligent and just, good and moderate. This is the inherent nobility of the human soul, says Musonius. This idea is not far off from the Buddhist notion of ‘basic goodness’ or the ‘noble heart’.

Regarding law, Musonius first notes that philosophers should train themselves to be undisturbed by insults and even blows (again in the manner of a young Spartan warrior in training). To become annoyed and angered is petty and can be a sign of weakness of character. He promotes forgiveness and seeing that the person who has wronged you probably acted out of ignorance and would not do so if he was properly taught.

Musonius was somewhat of a champion of women’s rights, though in the context of Roman society. He says women can be good philosophers since philosophy is simply knowledge about life. As among men he stresses self-control as a virtue among women as well as modesty, restraint, and good household management. He advocated that men and women be taught in the same ways and held to the same standards since they are equal. He does agree with general segregation of work tasks due to the difference in bodily capabilities among men and women. Good conduct and a noble character should be the product of philosophy, he says, for men and women.

On enduring hardship Musonius points out that we often endure hardships for dishonorable reasons so it would be better to endure them for honorable reasons and to cultivate contentment with what we have instead of suffering for what we don’t have. Musonius stresses that self-control brings pleasure and lack of it often brings pain. Discipline as a source of happiness is noted in many belief-systems. He stresses virtue as a practice, like medicine and music, rather than just theory. He sees training in two modes: 1) training of body and soul – things like enduring heat, cold, thirst, hunger, hard beds, and patience under suffering, and 2) training unique to the soul – things like learning to recognize what is beneficial and what is not and developing the ability to resist temptations and to avoid bad habits.

His words on leadership stress the ethical qualities of leaders as most important. He says leaders should act with a sense of duty rather than one of imposing their will. A king, as protector and benefactor of his people, should study philosophy in order to be able to discern what is moral. A leader should also practice self-control and avoid excesses. Discipline, order, courtesy, courage, and the ability to reason are other necessary kingly attributes. The ability to debate successfully is another important asset. A king should also be efficient in putting plans into action, resolute in facing hardships, humane, patient, and a good judge of what is just. Musonius gave this dialogue to a Syrian king who thanked him for the teaching and offered him anything in return. Musonius chose in return that the king should remain faithful to the teaching.

Musonius talks about exile as a punishment. Many philosophers including Musonius were exiled from Rome under Nero as well as others so this was a common punishment since before Hellenic times for those thought to be problematic. Musonius speaks of the benefits of exile: being away from those who hate you, being free of political duties, and a further opportunity to become content with what you have. He quotes Socrates (as he often does) saying that the universe is the fatherland of all. He gives a few examples of exile being a blessing in disguise: Diogenes becomes a philosopher in exile and Spartiacus the Spartan ends up cured of his medical ailments while in exile.

His section on work is a warning against laziness, sluggishness, and carelessness. He recommends farming as an honest living that requires hard work. He also recommends a shepherd’s life as conducive to philosophy and mind training and gives the early poet Hesiod as an example.

“The most necessary and useful things are possible to learn alongside farm work, especially if you are not kept working constantly. But have periods of rest.”

He complains that philosophy has become infested with the voluminous doctrine of the sophists of the cities. Musonius recommends a rural atmosphere as conducive to learning the moral lessons of philosophy.

His section on marriage favors good companionship, mutual love, and common interests. He suggests disregarding status of family, wealth, and physical beauty as important factors in a relationship. Health, virtue, and self-control are better qualities, he says. He sees marriage as a noble social bond that helps us to be kinder to our neighbors as well. He notes the sacredness of marriage in myth: Hera as the patroness of marriage and Eros and Aphrodite as influencing love and marriage. He promotes marriage as a good thing among philosophers as well – perhaps some philosophical schools promoted celibacy and avoidance of marriage as a distraction.

The section about sex is partly a reaction to the unfortunate results of sex in 1st century Rome: illegitimate children often cast out into poverty, risky abortions, and addiction to excessive sex. Musonius promotes self-control and avoidance of adultery. He includes homosexuality as an unnecessary excess as well. He even suggests avoiding sex with courtesans and maidservants (common in the Roman culture) as dishonorable.

Musonius also praises children and those who have and care for many children. He notes that those types of parents are often well-liked and well in tune with Zeus as the god of hospitality and friendship. He despises those who would kill off a later born son to increase the inheritance of the first-born, noting that a brother-brother bond is a greater wealth benefit than merely more possessions.

The section on obedience stresses that one should obey one’s parents and superiors as much as is reasonable except when it clearly contradicts the good, the just, and the moral. He stresses obedience to one’s moral principles ahead of obedience to those who outrank one. If parents lead their children to misdeeds, he says, the children should endeavor to re-educate the parents and that with the attitudes and self-control required of philosophers they should be able to do so. If one’s father is misleading one then one should appeal to Zeus, the father of all men, who stands for kindness, justice, moderation, honesty, and morality.

Musonius spoke much about food. He believed that the practice of moderation and self-control in eating and drinking laid a foundation for a life of discipline and self-control. Simple foods rather than luxurious and hard-to-find foods are more useful and nourishing, he says. Fruits, vegetables, milk, cheese, and honey and raw foods are the most preferable followed by cooked grains and vegetables. Meat is least desirable. He calls it a less civilized food, more suited to wild animals. He also says meat is a ‘heavy’ food that dulls the mind and intellect. Since the gods feed on the vapors rising in the air and we are closest to the gods we should try to emulate them more than animals. The foods he suggests are ‘lighter’ and so more like the foods of the gods. Gluttony is disparaged. Eating too much, too fast, too many sweets and sauces, and eating too often or at the wrong times are also discouraged. He says: “Most men live to eat. I eat to live.”  He notes that the enjoyment of food only occurs for the short time we are chewing and swallowing but the real benefit comes from nourishment during digestion so that the real benefit of food is nourishment and not pleasure.

Concerning “True Wealth” - When encountering a dishonest beggar posing as a philosopher Musonius suggested with a grin to give him money, suggesting that money was more of a curse than a boon. Clothing should be practical and moderate rather than elaborate. Housing as well, he says, should be practical and moderate.

“To help many people is much more commendable than living a life of luxury. How much nobler to spend it on people than sticks and stones.”

“Whatever is difficult to obtain, or not convenient to use, or not easy to protect is judged worse- what we acquire easily, use with satisfaction, and find easy to keep is better!”

He also says that, “Foolishness is next of kin to madness.”

He admired Lycurgus of Sparta as the lawgiver that drove extravagance from Sparta and replaced it with an ideal of frugality. Lycurgus also promoted deprivation as a means to develop courage and banished luxury as a corrupting influence. These qualities of courage, discipline, and resilience caused the Spartans to be admired as the best of Greeks.

Musonius also curiously promotes cutting of the hair as a practical measure that can aid work but he praises the beard, seeing it as a necessary male feature like a cock’s crest. One could also say this about the hair. This piece is more opinionated than moral but does reflect some views of the time. Musonius equates ornamental hair-cutting (rather than practical hair-cutting) and shaving with luxury and feminine-type desire to look attractive.

He gives a final section on Old Age. Here Musonius suggests the same words to the aged as to the youth:

“Live methodically in harmony with nature.”

Musonius notes rich men full of sadness and despair about their old age and again notes that true wealth is in one’s moral qualities and abilities to help others. He says that philosophy teaches what is helpful and what is harmful and if one learns it and practices it at any age one can be happy.

Regarding death he often stipulates that one should not regard death as an evil and one should approach it with fearlessness and courage. Death is inevitable. The elements dissolve into one another and re-manifest out from one another. In dissolution earth becomes water, water becomes air, air becomes ether – and vice versa in manifestation. This is a long-standing Greek metaphysical notion that is shared in India and both likely have similar origins. He also suggests that those who listen to philosophers should not overly praise them but rather put their teachings into practice. Philosophers serve to show people their errors and faults rather than to dazzle them with clever wisdom. A philosopher is more like a doctor, revealing what needs to be worked on to cure one’s moral flaws.

This was a great introduction to Musonius Rufus and shows that the ancient Romans had sound, practical, and ethical philosophers around. One may think of the Romans as given to excesses, cruelty, and extravagance but there were certainly many among them of high moral, compassionate, and sensible character. Here is one among many philosophers in the pagan times of antiquity that should be better known today. I think that after Christianity came to dominate western and European culture much of this ancient moral wisdom was lost. Even though Musonius was pagan as Romans were his philosophy as well as the philosophy of many of the ancient Greeks is more secular, more practical, and much less religiously inclined than those of the later Christians who infused morality with religious dogma.  

 

The Social Conquest of Earth

Book Review: The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson (Kindle Edition 2012)

This is a fascinating foray into gene-culture co-evolution and multilevel selection which is the interplay of individual and group selection. It is also a history of eusocial evolution and provides an unparalleled background of the dynamics of human social evolution. Wilson is an accomplished biologist, an expert particularly on ant species. Much of the book is a comparison between humans and eusocial insects. He has also written much about social evolution through the years. His book – Sociobiology – was criticized due to the suggestion that some aggressive behaviors like racism may have a biological or evolutionary component but he has since changed his orientation.

In the introduction Wilson touches on the human condition through the work of the artist Paul Gauguin. His 12 ft wide masterpiece painted in Tahiti was called – ‘This painting is not an answer. It is a question.’ Wilson uses this as a starting point on his foray into discovering what forces of evolution make up human impulses and the human condition.

The first story bonds of tribes are in the creation myths. Each of countless clans and tribes of the past shared their creation stories as a bond. I sort of tend to disagree with Wilson’s conclusion that myth/religion and science can never be reconciled. Who knows really? Although I agree that science offers us the best chance for agreed upon knowing – I think that all knowledge is an approximation. Therefore I more definitely disagree with his dismissal of philosophy. Luckily it is the science part that is valuable in this book.

He notes that humans were quite vulnerable to extinction throughout much of their early history due to many factors: small bands, droughts, disease, etc. Eusocial insects such as ants, bees, wasps, and termites have been around for tens or hundreds of millions of years compared to our meager few million. They evolved at a slower pace and achieved a better balance with the overall ecosystems while we have come to dominate and threaten the very planet we inhabit. Humans are also a eusocial species, defined as a species where group members consist of multiple generations and are prone to perform altruistic acts as part of their division of labor. This is merely one similarity to the other eusocial species. There are many obvious differences. Our eusociality apparently came about in different ways. He lists these as altruism, cooperation, competition, domination, reciprocity, defection, and deceit. Insects have size constraints due to their skeletal structures and brain size constraints. This limited their mental development to the instinctual level.

Wilson likens the path of evolution to a maze where old corridors (niches) close while others open. He talks much about ‘preadaptation’ as predisposition favorable to precede certain adaptation. An example is the relative size and relative immobility of humans compared to eusocial insect species. Other ones mentioned for primates are specialization for life in the trees – large eyes with color vision, opposable thumbs and fingers for grasping, and things like bipedalism when life on the ground became prominent. Bipedalism allowed primates to carry food in the hands for considerable distances. Perhaps, he says, due to their 3D environment and complex feeding behaviors they began to develop larger brains. They also began to rely more on vision and less on smell. He states that bipedalism was key to the success of the prehumans called australopithecines. Three species of them were known in Africa and they travelled in small groups in the manner of hunter-gatherers. Later homo species developed long-distance running abilities, dropped body hair, and developed sweat glands. These adaptations increased survivability in the hot savanna environment. The ability to throw things, to utilize projectiles, he thinks is a cultural adaptation. A few chimps do it as well. The next step toward human eusociality he gives as the control of fire. Perhaps first seeing and searching for dead animals caught in brush fires and noticing their cooked flesh easier to remove led to harvesting fire for cooking. Fire allowed the gathering of groups at campsites. These were probably kin groups along with women from nearby groups as in modern hunter-gather societies. Campfire sites were used by most or all of the homo groups and thought to extend back about 1 million years. The basic similarity to eusocial insects is that the insects raised young in a nest that they defended and foraged for food away from the nest.

Homo habilis (1.8-1.6 mya) developed from australopithecines. Habilis had evolved teeth to better consume meat and this consumption likely began as humans ate large herbivores found dead or killed by other predators that they could chase off. Successful competition for food, the use of tools to dig roots, and the wile to outwit enemies, likely contributed to better survival. Increased meat in the diet may have been a major contributing factor to larger brain size for hominid species. Wilson suggests that hunting strategizing actually may have been an even bigger factor in brain size increase. Hunting in groups is rare among mammals, occurring mostly in our common-ancestored primates (chimps and bonobos), but also among lionesses, wolves, and wild dogs. Utilization of teamwork to get meat, a denser proteinated and efficient food source, likely led to bigger brains and gradually more complex social behavior. They, as well as other eusocial species, foraged from protected nests. The protected nest was a place to go from and return to, a place of gathering, or reconvening, which seems conducive to the development of social behavior. Having both meat hunters and vegetable gatherers in the group helped to develop division of labor and competition for greater share of food. Status in the group became more important. The ability to read the intentions of others was key to social intelligence (probably still is). Those with this ability could also better outwit and defeat competing tribes.

Next he lists the major pre-adaptations, each leading to the next, that lead to modern humans: 1) living on land, 2) large body size (allowed for a larger brain) compared to other eusocial species, 3) grasping hands to hold, climb, and manipulate things, unique to primates, allowed for technological development, 4) adding some meat to the diet, first from scavenged carcasses, then from hunting, 5) cooperation in harvesting meat which led to highly organized groups, 6) controlled use of fire which allowed for evolution of digestion of cooked meat and social sharing of prepared meals. Fire also lead to – 7) extended base campsites that could be defended like a nest, 8) division of labor.

Wilson favors natural selection as the force that allowed us to navigate the evolutionary maze. He cites his early fascination with kin selection and its result called inclusive fitness theory. Now he favors group selection rather than kin selection – the notion that the fitness of the group was the important factor rather than just the fitness of kin. The interplay of individual selection and group selection, what he calls multi-level selection, he thinks, is the natural selection mechanism of humans. This theory is not based on degrees of relatedness as in kin selection, but is simply an acknowledgement of the necessity of balancing the needs of the individual and the needs of the group. Early homo sapiens consisted of groups competing for resources. The most cooperative groups became the most successful and the fittest. He sees a tension between the forces of individual selection, generally self-interested, and group selection, generally altruistic. The needs of the group came to overcome the needs of the members, but also to overcome the selfish survival habits of the members. He sees it as a cost/benefit dynamic.

He thinks this clash of individual and group selection is responsible for the arising of culture among humans. In this scenario selfishness, cowardice, and hypocrisy are products of individual selection and virtue, honor, and duty are products of group selection.

Based on the value of group selection in determining group fitness, Wilson concludes that: “tribalism is a fundamental human trait.” Our group or tribal instincts are a product of group selection. Modern humans exist within a social world of multiple interlocking tribes with various focuses. He gives the fanaticism around team sports as an example of tribalism. Tribal members develop in-group or home team preferences. Wilson thinks we have some brain hardwiring to favor groupishness. Tribalism is perhaps a key to humanity’s history and practice of warfare. Wilson mentions the modern example of Rwanda where in 1994, about 800,000 people were slaughtered by knife and gun in about 100 days. Wilson emphasizes the warlike nature of humans and suggests our societies are hopelessly bound to war behavior as history has shown – but I tend to think we can evolve beyond such limitations. Tribal mortality rates through war and homicide among hunter-gatherers, past and present, and even among chimps are remarkably similar. One thing is certain – territorial aggression and protection have a vast history. Population growth and competition for resources can lead to aggression. He likens these to limiting factors affecting hierarchical populations in the food chain. Limiting factors tend to kick in instinctual behaviors in various species such as emigration or can be natural limiting factors such as starvation due to overgrazing after removal of a predator. The advent of Neolithic agriculture allowed much greater populations to be sustained but war and tribal instinct did not abate between differing tribes. Our tendency to ‘multiply and consume’ has brought us to the brink of biosphere collapse in modern times.

Homo erectus was possibly buffered against extinction by its great range. From 1.5 mya this ancestor of ours roamed much of the earth excluding Australia, the New World, and various islands. Homo sapiens developed diagnostic features rare among animals: use of language, music, prolonged childhood, concealed female genitalia and female ovulation, fast brain growth during early development, small teeth and slender body suited to an omnivorous diet, and a digestive system suited to eat food tenderized by cooking. Wilson also gives a history of the spread of anatomically modern humans out of Africa. After this exodus some 48-60,000 years ago there was an explosion of culture and creativity. There are 3 main hypotheses for this creativity: mutation, a gradual development that happened to culminate in this time period, and that cultural innovations occurred then relapsed as deteriorating climate caused shrinking population and hardship – then re-emerged in newer forms as climate improved. All three ideas may be reconciled. Wilson suggests this time period as one where human culture became autocatalytic – where one innovation made others possible. These innovations increased group fitness and survivability. I guess this would be the time when cultural evolution gained on and perhaps even later overtook purely biological evolution for our species. The biggest overall jump may have come in the Neolithic 10,000 years ago with the advent of agriculture. With it came food surpluses, trade, villages, and specialization. Wilson suggests that the roots of agriculture came much earlier – 45,000 years ago when game was driven and captured by starting fires. As a result of this they likely noticed that growth of certain plant species was enhanced after the fires and so deliberate burning and selection of certain plants enhanced by burning may have been practiced. This eventually led to plant and tree domestication which occurred close to the same time as agriculture and animal domestication. Fast-forwarding to modern times Wilson gives his opinion of artificial intelligence as possible on certain levels of memory, computation, and information processing – but unlikely to replace the magnificent human mind, our treasured biological heritage.

Among humans anthropologists recognize three levels of societies: generally egalitarian hunter-gatherer bands, chiefdoms, and states. These developed culturally rather than biologically and are based on size, expansion, degree of success in war, and resource availability. Hierarchies develop in more complex social systems for reasons of efficiency and order. Studies have found that variation in personality traits within an ethnic group is relatively consistent when comparing different groups. This suggests that while there are general differences in traits between ethnicities there is also variability within and so the effects of culture are stronger than the effects of biology in making people different. Similarity of genetic dispositions among differing peoples likely led to them coming to the same adaptations (ie. state formation, agriculture, animal domestication, and possibly writing) in different places independently of one another.  These happened at different times and speeds. According to Jared Diamond’s famed work, Guns, Germs, and Steel, the reason for this was chiefly geography and availability of resources.

Part III of the book covers the development of social insects. He notes that eusociality is rare. Protected dwellings with multigenerational inhabitants and outwardly altruistic division of labor, are features of eusociality. These adaptations give social insects their ability to dominate the earth in terms of sheer numbers. Leafcutter ants have complex social behaviors. They practice agriculture by using their feces as fertilizer to grow a specific fungus which feeds them. Other ants farm aphids, scale insects, and mealybugs much like humans farm dairy cows living mainly off of their honeydew (excrement and excess moisture), only killing them in famine times. The ants actually protect these sapsuckers from other predators. The ant/sapsucker symbioses are widespread and contribute much to overall ecosystem cohesiveness. Eusocial insects developed innovative symbiotic relationships to their environment that helped them succeed. The change in plant dominance from gymnosperms to angiosperms (seed producing plants)  increased the survivability of those angiosperms and their long-distance dispersal. These flowering plants then co-evolved with pollinating insects, birds, and bats. Seed eating ant species may also keep granaries for storing food, another social innovation. Social arrangements became genetically programmed in social insects with altruistic division of labor as in worker bees and ants bred by Queen and drones. Wilson goes on to show how inclusive fitness theory and selfish gene theory are incorrect in terms of eusocial insect genetics of the Queen and her phenotype. The colony can be likened as a single organism. Wilson sees individual selection (the Queen and her robots) rather than multilevel selection (interests of individual furthered by interests of colony) as the mechanism in social insects. This is still debatable apparently. He goes on to describe social insect evolution in great detail but the book’s details may be better remembered with some summary lists, charts, tables, or recaps.

He discusses how natural selection creates social instincts. He gives an interesting hypothetical example of alleles for birds to select nesting in oaks and then pines developed when oaks became scarce so that the selection yields adaptability to changing times and resource availability. This is an example of micro-evolution where dominance of a certain allele may prevail when necessary – first for some then in time for the species as a whole as adapters survive. The example is one of ‘phenotype plasticity’ based on genotype.

“Natural selection is usually multilevel: it acts on genes that prescribe targets at more than one level of biological organization, such as cell and organism, or organism and colony.”

He gives cancer as an example of when selection at the cellular level conflicts with selection at the level of the organism.

Wilson goes on to describe kin selection and inclusive fitness theory in detail and suggest that – reduction of discordance within a group by group selection (presumably survival of more concordant groups) is equally plausible. Altruism in eusocial species has often been desribed in terms of kin selection/inclusive fitness but he suggests that group selection is equally plausible regardless of kinship. He gives a possible example as the “floating strategies” of certain species where helpers move about nests helping in tasks regardless of kinship. Wilson suggests a new theory built in stages: First individuals come together to build and defend nests or colonies. This gives advantages to the group. He suggests that close genetic relatedness is a consequence rather than a cause of eusocial behavior.  The second stage is accumulation of other traits that favor eusociality like care of the brood in the nest. The third stage is the origin of eusocial alleles through mutation or already mutated immigrants to the nest. Social genes have yet to be found but there are some selection forces that lead to alarm calls or chemical signals. These may develop to the point where different castes in the nest exhibit different behaviors. The 4^th phase is identification of environmental forces driving group selection. Defense against enemies, predators, parasites, and rival nests is an example. 5^th and finally there is group selection between colonies which drives life cycles and specialized social behavior.

Next he investigates human nature. He states that:

“Human nature is the inherited regularities of mental development common to our species. They are the “epigenetic rules,” which evolved by the interaction of genetic and cultural evolution that occurred over a long period in deep prehistory.”

Epigenetic means that the behaviors are not genetically hardwired or beyond conscious control but are tendencies based on both genetics and culture. The behaviors are not hardwired like reflexes but the rules are, he says. The behaviors are learned but we have predispositions (epigenetic rules) that prepare us to learn them. This process is an example of gene-culture coevolution. He gives the classic example as the development of lactose tolerance among human adults some few thousand years ago. The mutations caused production of lactase, an enzyme that converts sugar into lactose, to extend beyond infants into adulthood. This was precipitated by the cultural practice of herding and keeping livestock for milk. Lactose tolerance is an example of “niche construction.”

He gives another example of an epigenetic rule as incest taboo and subsequent exogamy (mating out of tribe). Another is color vocabulary, which rather strangely, it has been determined that our defined colors are learned rather than inherent, and also based on our ability to perceive certain wavelengths of light and not others. We learn colors but we learn them based on our genetic limitations. It has been found that language affects color classification. Another observation is that the color red in primates was noticed as it was often fruit to primates in a green and brown environment. Later it also became the color of sexual advertisement.

Wilson says that we did not invent culture but the common ancestors of chimps and prehumans did. We merely elaborated on it. Scientists define culture as “the combination of traits that distinguishes one group from another.” Culture traits are behaviors invented in a group or learned from another group. Among animals, chimps and bonobos have the most advanced cultural repertoire consisting of many culture traits. Humans utilize their unique long-term memory to vastly elaborate culture. Other animals such as pigeons and baboons exhibit long-term memory but humans are vastly better at it. Humans also have the unique ability to build scenarios which may be built from the memory. Wilson thinks that “the conscious mind, one of the architecture’s products [complex inherited architecture of the brain], originated by gene-culture coevolution, an intricate interplay between genetic and cultural evolution.” Archeological artifacts suggest that “abstract thought and syntactical language emerged no later than 70,000 years ago. Since 200,000 years ago hafting of stones onto spears suggests advanced cognitive ability. Both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens did this.

The ability to collaborate to achieve shared goals and intentions required the use of memory and cognitive abilities. Expressing our intentions and reading the intentions of others allows us to pursue our collaborative urges. Milestones were possibly the development of “shared attention” – the ability to pay attention to the same things as others, and the recognition that our own mental states are shared by others. These possibly aided the development of language. Language was the grail of social evolution, he notes. Language is a means to direct the attention of others and allows us to understand and share intentions, says linguist Michael Tomasello et al. Animals communicate with warning systems and some meaning conveyed but the communication is fixed. Human language has many nuances and abstractions. Language development may be aided as well by epigenetic rules (prepared learning). An interesting example is that in tropical climates languages appear to utilize more vowel sounds possibly due to acoustic efficiency where people spend more time outside and can hear those sounds better from a distance in competition with other sounds. The genetic basis of language likely predates language, say current researchers. 

Wilson compares rigid traits to traits having variability and plasticity. An example of plasticity is the uniqueness of human fingerprints and an example of rigidity is the amount of fingers on a human hand. Degree of plasticity in gene expression is apparently ruled by natural selection as well. Regulatory genes rather than coding genes are key to the evolution of plasticity. This results in more subtle effects on the whole organism. Wilson states that:

“The intricacies of gene-culture coevolution are fundamental to understanding the human condition.”

He examines the origins of morality and honor seeing them as a product of multilevel selection. “In a constantly changing world we need the flexibility that only imperfection provides.” He says that group selection results in in-group altruism. Individual selection is influenced by competition within a group while group selection is influenced by competition between groups. He offers a rule in genetic social evolution, that selfish people win out over altruistic people but groups of altruists beat groups of selfish humans. Multilevel selection, he says, is necessary as a way of balancing us between undesirable extremes. The history of social networks and the modern overlapping nature of multiple networks make for a complex of group selection processes. The band-sized network of our hunter-gatherer past is possibly our default network-size preference. The so-called Golden Rule is fundamental to moral reasoning in most or all cultures. The relationship to ‘others’ is key to this rule. The interplay of selfishness and altruism creates an ambiguous or ambivalent state. The needs and desires of the self seem to always be pitted against the needs and desires of others. I think Wilson goes a bit overboard in attributing altruism too much to biological and cultural influences. Altruism as a goal in itself can be cultivated as a habit and gradually become more genuine – and eventually spontaneous – according to Mahayana Buddhist training motifs. Honor as a motivation does seem to be influenced by both biological and cultural forces aided by the human will. Confronting injustice takes courage and will and is perhaps fed by a sense of honor, a desire to be honorable. Selfishness is often seen as dishonorable so in this way altruism can be motivated by a desire to avoid dishonor. Is this genuine altruism? It is probably not, so the degree of authentic honor cannot often be easily determined. Good intentions can also have detrimental consequences. Ethics can become dogmatic. He gives the example of homophobia. The origin is likely the notion that sex that is not for reproduction is undesirable and should be condemned. Homosexuality is often seen as genetic as well as cultural to a certain extent, yielding possible benefits to the reproductive success and preservation of human qualities within the group as well as contributions to human diversity. He says that: “A society that condemns homosexuality harms itself.” Wilson suggests that examining the biological origins of morality can be useful and will tend to verify the more obvious moral choices and tend to reject the ones based on fear and manipulation such as homophobia, racism, sexism, etc.

Religion initially makes conflict not between people but between worldviews. Wilson’s analysis of the origin of religion is interesting. He certainly favors secular science which I think is good but I also think he neglects some of the value of ritual, psychology, and philosophical contemplation. He rightly sees modern organized religion as an expression of tribalism. “The goal of religions is submission to the will and common good of the tribe.” He thinks Paleolithic peoples reflecting on their own mortality thought that the dead reappeared in dreams in spirit/dream worlds. Hallucinogenic drugs likely supported this belief. Working with them and incorporating them into the creation stories that knit the tribe together supported the development of mythology. Religion, he notes, has been incomparable in inspiring the creation of great works of art.

Compared to other animals and insects our sensory range is rather small, particularly in the realms of taste and smell. Humans, monkeys, apes, and birds are primarily audio-visual while other species communicate much with pheromones and chemicals. Of course, now we can probe the sensory ranges with our scientific tools. Experiments have shown that the human brain is most aroused by patterns with about 20% redundancy. This also apparently corresponds to the amount of redundancy and complexity in many human art pieces. Possibly this is the most complexity the brain can process instantly so that it is optimized in some sense.

Wilson suggests that the ambiguity in the human mind created by the conflict of individual selection and group selection is the key source of art and the humanities. He compares the mechanisms and rules of science and the humanities. He equates science with the quest for discovery in concise terms and literature with the use of metaphor which has the ability to communicate emotional tone. The whole analysis reminds me a bit of Nietzsche’s Apollo and Dionysus classification of human artistic impulses. Wilson attempts a quick history of artistic and creativity from early tools to the Paleolithic explosion of creativity. Flutes over 30,000 years old play just fine and are well constructed musically. The songs and dances of modern hunter-gathers are very often about hunting which could be compared to Paleolithic art in which hunting is the key subject. The songs are also tribal and strengthen memory of tribal history. He says that to create and perform music is instinctual and I am inclined to agree mostly to that. Music and language are related. Music may have been derived from speech as some suggest. Yet is also has beat which speech does not normally contain.

Wilson emphasizes the biological origins of culture. We are products of biological evolution. The question of free will – he suggests is more restricted to biology than is normally considered. Humans are the largest and most far-reaching eusocial species. He suggests that the forces of multilevel selection brought us to this godlike state. He considers group selection as the main driving force of human evolution:

“ … group-level traits, including cooperativeness, empathy, and patterns of networking, have been found to be heritable in humans …”

“A basic element of human nature is that people feel compelled to belong to groups and, having joined, consider them superior to competing groups.”

The conflicted nature of motivations and the pull of conscience can be explained by the competing nature of individual and group selection. Most creation myths favor that tribe as the chosen of the gods, over other tribes. Ritual helps to organize our tribal lives and aid in life’s transitions. But modern organized religion is often divisive and often does not consider well those of other orientations. Studies have shown that greater interconnection of people through such means as the internet strengthens their cosmopolitan attitudes – one can only hope. Strengthening a non-dogmatic approach to life can have positive repercussions such as allowing us to better work together to solve the problems of the world such as HIPPO (habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, overpopulation, and overharvesting). Our dominance of the planet is shrinking biodiversity. He stresses the importance of recognizing science as the basis of our belief systems rather than just a scenario that is competitive with religious scenarios.

This is a great book that mainly explores the biological and to a lesser extent the cultural components of so-called human nature.

Being Peace

Book Review: Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh (Parallax Press 1987)

Thich Nhat Hanh writes some very good books. They are typically easy to read and deceptively simple yet subtly profound. I would highly recommend his books for those interested in Buddhism or contemplative practice. This book is about peace and cuts to the heart of the matter, that without cultivating inner peace and peaceful relationships with our inner circle of folk it is hard to practice peace in society. Thich Nhat Hanh became a monk at a young age. He suffered much along with his people during wartime  in his native Vietnam. He tried to remain neutral but was exiled and settled in France. His style of Zen Buddhism is interwoven with a soft style of activism known as “Engaged Buddhism.” This book is nicely illustrated with simple but elegant drawings (similar to the content) by Mayumi Oda.

Hahn says that mere suffering is not enough. We also need to be in touch with the wonders of life. He advocates mindfulness as a way to be in touch with all that life offers – the suffering and the wonders.

“Meditation is to be aware of what is going on – in the body, in our feelings, in our minds, and in the world.”

He advocates (in several of his books) cultivating a gentle smile and enjoying things like meditation and breathing. We can practice with delight rather than struggle. We can remind ourselves through the formula that he suggests: inhale – think “calm”, exhale – think “smile”, inhale – think “present moment”, and exhale – think “wonderful moment”. This is simple and yet very concise and available. We can also remember that all beings have Buddha Nature which is simply the capacity to be awake or undeluded. This is also the capacity to love and to understand, to be compassionate and wise. So it is one’s own awakened nature that one relies on in the formula of taking refuge in the Buddha. The three refuges are Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha – teacher, teachings, and community of assistants. 

Hanh tells of a boy who encounters the Buddha in walking meditation after he (Buddha) went for a swim. He says he would like to give Buddha something and Buddha suggests a handful of grass. This is the kusha grass Buddha used for a seat on his final time/night before enlightenment. This boy was a tender of water buffaloes and during the first week or so of Buddha’s enlightenment he saw only the milk maid (who delivered yogurt to him) and the boy who tended water buffaloes. Earlier, the milk maid found Buddha starving and emaciated and feeling sorry for him offered him some yogurt. He took some and regained his health. The Sutta of Tending Buffaloes list the eleven skills of a buffalo boy as well as eleven skills of monks. It was only after this time that Buddha went back to visit his five ascetic friends who renounced him after they found out he was eating yogurt which helped him regain his bodily strength. When he found them he gave his first teaching on the four noble truths.

Dharma is the Buddha’s teaching. Dharmakaya is the body of the Buddha’s teaching. Hahn notes that we can recognize the Buddha’s teaching in any sight or sound or smell or thought that appears before us. Dharmakaya has come to mean something like “ontological ground of being,” he says. In a story echoing a similar Chinese/Japanese one there is the 13^th century Vietnamese teacher Tue Trung being asked by a monk. “What is the pure, immaculate Dharmakaya?” The teacher pointed to the excrement of a horse. The import is that Dharmakaya is beyond words and adjectives so ideas like pure and immaculate cannot truly be distinguished from the impure and the messy and the sloppy. All can be recognized as the body of the Buddha’s teachings. We can potentially understand reality in any situation and from any source. The body of the Sangha, or community, is anything or anyone that supports our love and understanding. The first body of the sangha with Buddha were the Bodhi tree, the buffalo boy, the milk maiden, and his five ascetic friends. Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are really one and the same, he says.

In describing feelings and perceptions, two of the five aggregates (body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, consciousness), he notes that the Abhidharma teaching say that they may be pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Which they are, he says, depends on one’s state of mind.

“If you practice awareness, you suddenly become very rich, very very happy. Practicing Buddhism is a clever way to enjoy life. Happiness is available. Help yourself to it. All of us have the capacity of transforming neutral feelings into pleasant feelings …”

Certainly, how we perceive things influences how we react to things. Hahn gives a rather simplistic version of dependent co-arising where my happiness depends on you and vice versa and taking care of oneself is one sure means of taking care of others since each is dependent on the other.

Thich Nhat Hanh notes that in order to understand the object of our perception we need to become one with that object. This is non-duality of perception, of perceiver and perceived. Similarly, in physics the observer has become the participant. The terms “non-dual” or “not two” are preferred over the term “one” since one implies its opposite, so two. Understanding what appears before us is important since it is this understanding that can transform destructive emotions such as anger into love and compassion.

In order to understand things as they are, he says, we must be ready to abandon our views about them. He tells a story the Buddha told regarding this: A man, a widower, was away on business and while he was away bandits came and burned down his whole village and took away his 5-year old son. He found a charred corpse nearby he thought was his son. The child escaped and returned home at night but the father would not open the door. He did not believe the boy to be his son. He shouted for the boy to go away and so he left. This is a simple story about clinging too hard to a belief. Letting go of knowledge and views is important in developing deeper understanding:

“Knowledge is solid; it blocks the way of understanding. Water [understanding] can flow, can penetrate.”

Thich Nhat Hanh often talks about interdependence. Here he says a sheet of paper is a cloud. The tree from which the paper came was dependent upon the cloud to make rain for the tree to grow. Other factors were sunshine, soil, the logger who cut the tree, the sustenance of the logger, the paper mill that made the paper, the delivery of the paper to the store that sold it, etc. Each thing has a long history dependent on many factors. So every thing is also other things that are not the thing. Similarly, when we meditate we do not seek to escape from society but to re-enter it with greater understanding. This, he says, is engaged Buddhism. We are dependent on everyone and everything around us. Our meditation is not for ourselves but for everyone.

He mentions that there is practice and non-practice but that we can train ourselves to practice in the non-practicing periods. One method he uses is to recite short “gathas” to himself as reminders. These are like affirmations, aspirations, or simply statements of reminder. They can also be mantras. He tells a story about a woman who endlessly recited “Namo Amitabha Buddha”. She was very frequent and serious about her practice periods. A friend wanted to test her so he called her name loudly just when she was beginning to practice. She ignored him for awhile but finally became annoyed and enraged. “She slammed the door, went out to the gate and said, “Why, why do you behave like that? Why do you call my name hundreds of times like that?” The gentleman smiled at her and said, “I just called your name for ten minutes, and you are so angry. You have been calling the Buddha’s name for ten years. Think how angry he must be by now!” The teaching here is that the quality of practice is more important than the quantity of practice.

In working for peace he notes that one should contemplate not only the bad conditions of the oppressed but also the factors that influenced the oppressors. He tells a few of his experiences being neutral in the Vietnam conflict. Both sides would suspect these monks to be working for the other. Many were killed. He stresses the importance of neutrality and not identifying exclusively with sides and ideologies. Being in touch with both sides in a conflict can be helpful for the situation. I noticed that in most of the political situations mentioned in the book, especially the ones where technology and arms buildups were causing problems (it was the 80’s) he uses “we” rather than “they” to refer to the makers of the problems. I think this is important in many current situations where an “us and them” mentality pervades.

Next he mentions a conflict resolution and reconciliation technique used by monks since the time of the Buddha and adopted in China, India, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. This consists of seven steps and is done in an assembled circle of monks. First is Face-to Face Sitting where the two monks face each other knowing that the assembly expects them to make peace. Second is Remembrance. This involves remembering the details of the story according to the view of each. The third principle is Non-stubbornness. The whole point of the conflict resolution is not really about the outcome but about the reconciliation process. Fourth is Covering Mud with Straw. This refers to making the path (to reconciliation) easier to walk just like covering mud with straw. (I did this just today with straw around the chicken house). This is done by two respected monks, each in favor of one of the monks and in such a way not to offend the other monk. Their views are respected. The mud is the dispute. The straw is the loving-kindness of the Dharma. Next is Voluntary Confession. Here each monk reveals his own shortcomings, usually minor ones. This is a method of de-escalation. Finally there is Decision by Consensus and Accepting the Verdict which are done in a ceremonial way. 

 Hahn notes the excessive frustration, anger, and misunderstandings prevalent in modern protest movements:

“… without being peace, we cannot do anything for peace. If we cannot smile, we cannot help other people smile. If we are not peaceful, then we cannot contribute to the peace movement.”

He notes optimism at the conjunction of Buddhism and so-called Western values. He also points out that Buddhism is altered when it meets with new cultures:

“When Buddhism enters one country, that country always acquires a new form of Buddhism.”  “[it] … must be suitable, appropriate to the psychology and the culture of the society it serves.”

His own order, the Tien Hiep Order, or Order of Interbeing is based on the Zen school of the lineage of Lin Chi from China. Tien means “to be in touch” and Hiep means “the present time”.  He translates this as “interbeing” from a word from the Avatamsaka Sutra.

He lists the 14 precepts of the order. These are a bit unusual as the order developed in Vietnam during a time of deep ideological conflict. The first few precepts are adamant about keeping an open mind and not falling into fixed views. I agree that this is very important for people. Compassionate dialogue is encouraged and keeping in contact with those who are suffering. Simplicity, generosity, letting go of animosity, promoting reconciliation, avoiding harming and killing, constructive use of the body, and working toward justice – are other key values.

He also includes pieces of his poetry here and there in the book. Here is an excerpt I liked:

You and I and everyone are flowing this morning

Into the marvelous stream of oneness.
Small pieces of imagination as we are,
We have come a long way to find ourselves,
And for ourselves in the dark,
The illusion of emancipation.

Great book. Makes sense. Good reminders.