The Bright Side of Negation
I have been reading a new book titled Secularizing Buddhism: New Perspectives on a Dynamic Tradition, edited by Richard K. Payne. I took a course from Dr. Payne while studying at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. He was also my thesis adviser. When a book has an editor rather than an author it usually means that it contains a collection of essays by various scholars. One of the thirteen essays included in this book discusses the differences between how pre-modern and modern people experience the world.
Pre-modern people are described as being very “porous”. Porous in the sense of being intimate with or at-one with our surroundings. Who we are and our sense of self is derived by the groups in which we belong. Membership ultimately defines us. Our interactions with others have a profound affect upon us. It is the activities that we partake in that orient our lives.
In contrast, modern people are described as being much more “buffered”. This is the opposite orientation. Rather than experiencing meaning when we are included, we create meaning for ourselves as individuals, as objective, external observers. We create our own reality daily by the observations we make and actions we take.
Individuality is prized by moderns but it comes at a very high price and we often have to overestimate our abilities in order to maintain this perceived state of autonomy. This can lead to a sense of alienation and disconnectedness. I have found this to be true in my life. This is where Buddhism can be very helpful. From a Buddhist perspective, it is this over reliance on the “buffered” Self that causes our Suffering.
Negation of the “buffered” Self may not be appealing to many modern people. It can seem like some sort of a defeat or failure on our part but it is not. This is because it is replaced by a “porous” Self that is open to new experiences through increased intimacy – not just with others but with all of Life. Thus, it might be much more effective to promote the more positive message of a Self that is imbued with true reality. This might be much more acceptable to modern people if it was presented in this way. In other words, we might be better off accentuating the positive rather than the negative.
This can all be distilled in the following quotation. “Today is a beautiful day of opportunity. I am exactly where I need to be. I open myself to the universe and trust in the unfolding of my life." I heard this mantra recently, repeated over and over again in a short YouTube meditation titled Guided Morning Meditation | 10 Minutes To Start Every Day Perfectly.
It is when the individual Self is challenged that the universal Self can be experienced perhaps for the first time. It is within Buddhist practice that place and activity begin to take over and the sound of Namoamidabutsu can begin to resonate within a heart that is no longer “buffered”. Instead, it is now “porous” and experiencing the bright side of negation. It is this transformation of “buffered” to “porous” that Buddhist practice makes possible and allows me to ”trust in the unfolding of my life."
