Layer 181 A Meaningful Life, How To Practice, The Dalai Lama, and Lessons from History.

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Thanks to feedback from readers, who have let me know that certain pages of Oxzen's blog act as useful reminders of what spiritual intelligence consists of, I'm reminded of the value of posting the thoughts of the great spiritual masters from time to time. Whilst there's also value in considering negatives – such as examples of what spiritual intelligence is NOT – it seems obvious that the greatest good is in constant reminders of How to Practice.

This is the title of a book I came across last year, written by the Dalai Lama, which has the sub-title, The Way to a Meaningful Life.

In the foreword, written by its translator and editor, Jeffrey Hopkins, we read about how the Dalai Lama lectures on the stages of the path to enlightenment.

“He speaks with great speed and clarity . . . presenting the full range of practices leading to enlightenment, often juxtaposing topics that others leave in isolation – all this with the depth of a philosopher. The same dual voice of poet and philosopher is present here in this book . . .”

“He offers suggestions on how to practice a spiritual path that will lead to mental clarity and emotional transformation. In this way, he shows how life can be made meaningful.”

“The embodiment of these practices [is] the very core of his being. It is important for us to recognise that this insightful, compassionate, humourous, and often marvellous person rose from Tibetan culture. We need to value that culture as one of the world's great wonders.”

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Introduction – by the Dalai Lama.

The Need for Peace and Kindness

"Human beings share the same basic goals: we all seek happiness and do not want suffering.

There are two ways to create happiness. The first is external. By obtaining better shelter, better clothes, and better friends, we can find a certain measure of happiness and satisfaction. The second is through mental development, which yields inner happiness.

However, these two approaches are not equally viable. External happiness cannot last long without its counterpart. If something is lacking in your perspective – if something is missing in your heart – then despite the most luxurious surroundings, you cannot be happy.

However, if you have peace of mind, you can find happiness even under the most difficult circumstances. Certain people may have acquired wealth, a good education, and high social standing, yet happiness eludes them.

On the other hand, some people who have less money to worry about enjoy more peace. They sleep well at night. Despite being poor in a material sense, they are content and happy. This shows the impact of a good mental attitude. Material development alone will not fully resolve the problem of humanity's suffering.

In this book I offer you, the reader, valuable techniques from Tibetan [Buddhist] traditions which, if implemented in daily practice, lead to mental peace. As you calm your mind and your heart, your agitation and worry will naturally subside, and you will enjoy more happiness. Your relationships with others will reflect these changes. And as better human being, you will be a better citizen of your country, and ultimately a better citizen of the world.

Human Potential

Animals and insects also want happiness and do not want suffering, but they have no special ability to consider how to achieve deeper happiness or overcome suffering. As human beings, endowed with this power of thought, we have this potential, and we must use it.

On every level – as individuals, and as members of a family, a community, a nation, and a planet – the most mischievous troublemakers we face are anger and egoism [exaggerated self-centredness]. No one claims to feel happy while being angry. As long as anger dominates our disposition, there is no possibility of lasting happiness. In order to achieve peace, tranquility, and real friendship, we must minimise anger and cultivate kindness and a warm heart ['loving-kindness'] This can be achieved through the practices I will describe in this book.

Developing a warm heart ourselves can also transform others, [who also] experience less anger. They will become more warm-hearted, compassionate, and harmonious. The very atmosphere becomes happier, which promotes good health, perhaps even a longer life.

You may be rich, powerful and well-educated, but without these healthy feelings of kindness and compassion there will be no peace within yourself, no peace within your family – even your children suffer. Kindness is essential to mental peace. As you will see in the pages ahead, the central method for achieving a happier life is to train your mind in a daily practice that weakens negative attitudes and strengthens positive ones.

The big question is whether or not we can practice kindness and peace. Many of our problems stem from putting ourself first at all costs.

To train the mind, you must exercise the patience and determination it takes to shape it. With patience, and practice, and time, change will come.

Interdependence

Today it is impossible to remain isolated, so if nations do not have mutual respect, problems are bound to arise. Economic rifts can be healed by a stronger sense of global interdependence and responsibility. The people of one nation must consider the people of other nations to be like brothers and sisters who deserve progress for their homelands.

The sale of weapons . . . by manufacturers in big countries fuels violence, but more dangerous than guns or bombs are hatred, lack of compassion, and lack of respect for the rights of others. As long as hatred dwells in the human mind, real peace is impossible.

We must do everything we can to stop war, and to rid the world of nuclear weapons. When I visited Hiroshima . . . my heart was deeply moved. How much pain and desolation nuclear war creates! Yet look at how much money is spent on weapons of mass destruction. It is shocking, an immeasurable disgrace.

The only way to achieve lasting peace is through mutual trust, respect, love and kindness. The only way.

External peace is impossible without inner peace. It is noble to work at external solutions, but they cannot be successfully implemented so long as people have hatred and anger in their minds. This is where profound change has to begin. Individually we have to work to change the basic perspectives on which our feelings depend. We can only do so through training, by engaging in practice with the aim of gradually reorienting the way we perceive ourselves and others.

The desperate state of our world calls us to action.”

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Action Man – Spiritual Intelligence -NOT!

One man who's definitely called to action in world affairs is our very own Minister for Defence, the Right Honourable Bob Ainsworth, MP.

The war in Afghanistan is "winnable", the defence secretary, Bob Ainsworth, insisted today, as new figures showed that more British soldiers have been injured in the country this year than in the whole of 2008.

"The troops know that we've made progress in the last few months, and I still firmly believe that Afghanistan is winnable," Ainsworth told the BBC during a round of interviews this morning to argue the case for the campaign, amid an apparent growing mood of public scepticism in Britain as the death toll among British troops reached 204.

Ministry of Defence statistics showed that 94 soldiers were injured in action in Afghanistan during July, more than double the number in June. Twenty-two soldiers were killed in July, compared with four in June.

So far this year, 236 troops have been hurt in the fighting, compare with 235 during all of last year.

With a poll showing yesterday that two-thirds of British people believed UK forces should leave the country, the government faces pressure to explain why the sacrifice is necessary. The task has been made all the more difficult by an outcry over a new Afghan law allowing some men the right to deny their wives food if sexual demands are unfulfilled, among other restrictions on women's rights.

There would almost certainly be more British deaths, Ainsworth warned this morning.

"When we are suffering the kind of losses that we are we cannot afford to be complacent," Ainsworth told GMTV. "I will do everything I can to support our troops with the best kit but what I can't do is promise to make the operation in Afghanistan safe. This kind of operation is intrinsically dangerous, the enemy is smart and they are studying our methods."

“Winnable”, eh Bob? Clearly this man is refusing to learn any lessons from history. From what happened in Vietnam, for instance – another fine example of politicians of a particular ideological bent feeling certain that they could defeat the so-called primitive enemy who were fighting for their country's right to self-determination and independence.

He might even consider the history of Afghanistan itself, and what happened to the Russian army and airforce when they attempted to combat the Afghans who resented Russian interference in their internal politics. And how clever were the Americans then to give sophisticated armaments and training to the very people who would later turn against worldwide American imperialism? The guys the Americans, and we British, are now trying to root out of Afghanistan!

Our Minister of Defence may be some kind of amiable old boy who's just trying to make the best of a fucked-up situation that his job requires him to tackle, but he's also reactionary to the core and an unquestioning supporter of the kind of stupid politics that can only harm the world and make it a more dangerous place, not safer.

Sadly he's a bit of an egocentric idiot. Power seems to have gone to his head, and it's now impossible for any alternative thinking to penetrate his thick skull. He's New Labour personified. Not that the New Conservatives will be any better. We're doomed!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/17/afghanistan-defence-secretary-military-deaths?CMP=AFCYAH

“General Sir Richard Dannatt, the outgoing head of the army . . . speaking at the official opening of an army recovery centre in Scotland, added: "It's a war about the people in Afghanistan. In particular we need to persuade the people in Afghanistan to support their government."

So here we have it – the people of Afghanistan don't support their 'government', and they need OUR persuasion that they should do so! Or maybe our bribes. And our propaganda. And our bombs. Just like the Vietnamese needed such 'help'.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband was on Radio 4 this morning still banging on about “the badlands between Afghanistan and Pakistan” and the need to combat terrorism. Militarily, of course.

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To end on a positive note, with some positive thoughts, have a look at this website -

http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/

About Buddhism

The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the world's ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

Atisha (11th century Tibetan Buddhist master)
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Layer 18 The Nature of Reality. Redefining the Goal.

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Chapter 3 of Ancient Wisdom, Modern World is concerned with ‘dependent origination’ and ‘the nature of reality’. Broadly speaking I take these ideas to mean that we are not, in reality, independent individuals, and that all life, all phenomena, and every human being, are interlinked and interdependent. Within this context, all of our actions have consequences not only for ourselves but for others, and we are nothing ourselves without other people.

With this in mind, then time has no real meaning - there is only a NOW when past actions inform the present and when what we do at any given moment has consequences for the future - both for ourselves and for others; both positive and negative.

These ideas were touched on in Layer 1 of this blog.

In Chapter 3 the Dalai Lama says, “If the self had intrinsic identity, it would be possible to speak in terms of self-interest in isolation from that of others’. But because this is not so, because self and others can only really be understood in terms of relationship, we see that self-interest and others’ interests are closely interrelated.

Indeed, within this picture of dependently originated reality, we see that there is no self-interest completely unrelated to others’ interests. Due to the fundamental interconnectedness which lies at the heart of reality, your interest is also my interest. From this it becomes clear that ‘my’ interest and ‘your’ interest are intimately connected. In a deep sense they converge.”

“Particular causes lead to particular effects, and certain actions lead to suffering while others lead to happiness. Thus it is in everybody’s interests to do what leads to happiness and avoid that which leads to suffering. And because our interests are inextricably linked, we are compelled to accept ethics as the indispensible interface between my desire to be happy and yours.”

Chapter 4 - Redefining the Goal - deals with the nature of happiness - short term and long term.

Money and material things can only bring short-term happiness. Having a lot of money and a lot of material things can even create a state of constant anxiety about their possible loss, for example. There can be no hope of gratifying the senses permanently.

The principal characteristic of genuine happiness is inner peace. Flourishing mentally and emotionally makes a significant contribution to inner peace. So does the satisfaction of love, and in order to attain it we need friends and family who can return our affection.

Our basic attitude to life is a major factor in attaining inner peace. Life consists of both light and dark elements. We can see a glass, and indeed our life, as half full or half empty. A tendency to see it as at least half full is needed in order to attain inner peace.

The other major source of inner peace, and therefore genuine long-term happiness, are the actions we undertake day to day. There are actions which contribute positively to the inner peace of ourselves and others, and actions whose impact are negative - certainly in the long run - to both ourselves and others.

Positive actions can be either ‘ethical’ or ‘spiritual’.

“An ethical act is one where we refrain from causing harm to others’ experience or expectation of happiness. Spiritual acts we can describe in terms of qualities such as love, compassion, patience, forgiveness, humility, tolerance and so on which presume some level of concern for others’ well-being. We find that the (spiritual) actions we undertake which are motivated not by narrow self-interest but out of our concern for others actually benefit ourselves. And not only that, but they make our lives meaningful.”

“Because our every action has a universal dimension, a potential impact on others’ happiness, ethics are necessary as a means to ensure we do not harm others.”

“Genuine happiness consists in those spiritual qualities of love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, humility and so on. It is these which provide happiness both for ourselves and others.”

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Back in the mists of time I first became interested in human well-being as a subject in itself (what some people are now calling ‘happiness studies’) when considering the ideas of the humanist psychologist Abraham Maslow who maintained that people who achieve something like their full potential (in terms of being the best human being they can be) are ‘self-actualised’.

In recent times I’ve come to see such people as being ‘3 dimensional’ - fully developed in terms of spiritual intelligence (SQ), emotional intelligence (EQ), and intellect (IQ). These three dimensions also encompass physical intelligence, instinctual intelligence, social intelligence and metaphysical intelligence. Self-actualised individuals have all of these in abundance.

These ideas concerning three dimensionality and three continuums of intelligence have already been described in Layer 2.

Self-actualised people have travelled a long way along the path towards enlightenment, and they experience satori as a day to day reality. These ideas concerning enlightenment have been described in other recent blogs, recent Layers.

In Layer 20 I’ll summarise Maslow’s work and set out a description in terms of day to day behaviour and attitudes what it actually means to be self-actualised. We can then consider which types of behaviour and which attitudes correspond with which intelligences. We will then be able to judge the proportions of SQ, EQ and IQ that are engaged in the day to day lives of self-actualised individuals. We can then take a view on the relative importance of each of the three dimensions to individual and collective well-being, happiness and enlightenment.
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Materialism [In Our Time. Radio 4 (9.00am.)]

Melvyn Bragg, A.C. Grayling, and others.

Listening to this reminds me I need to get back to reading (and blogging about) Grayling’s 2003 book, What Is Good? The Search For The Best Way To Live, which can happen after I’ve finished Richard Layard’s Happiness - Lessons from a New Science. (2005)

Notes on the broadcast:

Materialists maintain that the only thing that exists is Matter.

The universe is fundamentally material in nature.

Epicurus said that materialism also applied to human nature. But whereas Aristotle believed in permanent substances, Epicurus didn’t.

He believed that humans should follow Pleasure - meaning tranquillity, serenity.

Lucretius believed the world consists of atoms - the basic stuff out of which everything is created.

Religion is mostly about fear and it oppresses people. If people realised they’re just atoms they wouldn’t worry about gods.

Aristotle saw nature as an interlocking system.

Purposes and intelligent design? Final causes? Opposite view to atomists and materialists.

Mind/soul/spirit = good? Matter = bad?
Christian doctrine was an espousal of this dualist view.

4th C Arian persecution. The Arians thought that ‘God is just a man’. They were wiped out for this view.

16th C Descartes. It’s possible to think about the material realm through science - to investigate this realm without impugning religion.

Galileo said that science is to do with quantifiable phenomena. Analysis of the world is a long way from common sense approaches. Science should be based on mathematics? Not an obvious idea.

Descartes and Gasendi - understanding the world through the senses. “There are only surfaces - not soul.” Injecting Epicurus into scientific debate.

The church’s doctrines had been dominant for centuries.

Hobbes espoused radical atomism. The only thing that exists are bodies.

Experiences produce thoughts and ideas in our brains. Consciousness is the ability to be aware of what’s happening.

There are no spiritual or immaterial realities. Hence the need to be atheist.

18th C saw the beginnings of the organised study of psychology and the phenomena of mind. We are still researching how consciousness arises. Our experience of the world is conditioned by our physiology and our psychology.

Issues of free will. Everything we do caused by anticedal states of affairs. Endless cause and effect. There is no freedom, fundamentally. Though we need our freedom to follow our desires.

The mind (memory) is a book that endlessly writes on itself. A Palimpsest. Layers. [See Layer 1]

We conceive ourselves as free moral beings. Whereas science proposes causal explanations.

Consciousness unifies disparate activities within the brain to create a unified sense of self.

The idea that there is a thing called soul or spirit that has ‘its’ own feelings, memories, desires, etc will fall away as we find proper explanations as to how the brain itself, of itself, gives rise to ‘mental’ phenomena.

No time on the programme to discuss Hegel, Marx and Quantum Physics!

If you missed the programme catch it on the BBC website - Listen Again.

Also Start The Week on R4 this week - another ‘must listen to’.

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A recent award for best individual contribution to radio went to Melvyn Bragg. And so say all of us In Our Time devotees.