Plan B
From the evening of the 17th through the morning of the 28th, for the first time in over two decades, I was silent. I had voluntarily decided to play at bhikku for 10 days and learn an ancient meditation technique that was discovered by Siddhartha Gautama 25 centuries ago. The site was North Fork, the geographical center of California and the technique is Vipassana by name. It is nothing short of phenomenal. In brief western words, it is a way to reprogram the sub-conscious mind and consequently liberate oneself from suffering. After about 50 hours of meditation of this type I can only say that the method is flawless and surprisingly scientific. One of the basic principles is anicca (Pali- pronounced ah-nee-cha), which essentially means the natural law of impermanence. From sub-atomic particles to entire solar systems, all arises and passes. It is only our reactions to this universal truth that leads us to our misery. At an intellectual level, most people in the modern era are ready to accept this fact. The problem is that we can acknowledge all sorts of things, but it doesn't really effect any change in behavior. It is nothing but another of thousands of accepted facts that we are programed with from birth onward and line up like idols on our mental altars. By meditating on the various sensations your body goes through, and by not reacting to them, you are in effect training your entire awareness of the fact of anicca. A man may pass a river in the morning on his way to work, but upon his return it is the same river, but at the same time not the same water. So too is it a fact that on a molecular level, it isn't the same man either. We are all part of a celestial flow of particles that we can neither control nor easily comprehend. After my 50 hours of meditation I went through all sorts of sensations, from euphoric to very painful, but they all passed. By responding with equanimity to my physical sensations, accepting that they are there, beyond my ability to control, and just another testament to the ephemeral and impermanent nature of life I was learning for myself something that was far from academic. After not talking for a few days your mind calms down. No more thinking up shit to say and having to respond to every utterance of others. Just you and the infinite world within. You can say the universe exists out there, or you can acknowledge that you conceive of a universe, and thus is it contained within your mind, like all other things you consider reality. Having accepted that you realize that the purity and quality of your world is utterly your own work. You can go for a walk on a sunny day and think, 'damn sun, stop being so hot and blinding', or you can find shade. So too can you complain and lament the way you view the world, or you can change it. I firmly believe that if all people practiced self awareness, equanimity and meditation this whole humanity thing would have a chance at succeeding, or at least stop being so agonizing. So this was Buddha's plan to save the human race- I can dig it, respect it and even go so far as to think it would work. Somewhere around day 7 I got to wondering, what's the western plan for the eradication of suffering? Then it dawned on me. The western, or perhaps more accurately, the white European mind has found a foolproof solution to human misery- we will unleash our inventions and malicious mentality on the whole planet without any semblance of restraint until there is nothing left. It seems pretty clear that another century like the last and human life on earth will be impossible. So no more humans, no more suffering; that is a straight up fact. So now having seen and walked a little on both paths, I must seriously consider which is preferable, or even better, more viable. I'm still undecided. With so many people on earth it looks like riding the fence just ain't going to suffice anymore. Granted humanities age old partners-Wars, Famines, Plagues- might rear their heads and postpone the decision for a few more lifetimes. Sooner or later Man is going to have to choose however. I like Buddha's way a lot. It appeals to me on a very deep level and accentuates all that I love about people. Having said that, I must concede that given my knowledge of history I can't help but see the western plan to be a sure thing, and Buddha's but the divine dream of the wise. As more and more of us enigmatically problematic humans arrive here on planet earth, it is clear that we are going to have to go down one path or the other. Looks like a win win to me if the goal is to stop the incessant pain of being human! I read only one thing the whole time I was at North Fork, and it was on a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap that out of desperation I read while defecating: "For one God's Spaceship Earth, with Bomb & Gun, we're All-One or none!" Think that pretty much lays the choice out pretty clear. We can all be Buddhas or Bushs... no matter how much we may think otherwise, we all got to collectively pick one program or the other; looks like we are leaning towards the later at present, could just be my perspective though.
