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OPEN MIND OPEN BODY The Yoga of Connection |
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This week, I read a letter to an advice columnist that was titled "So Vegan It Hurts". (You will need to watch a brief ad if you want to read the letter on the web site.) The letter writer wanted to know how she could continue to exist in a world that caused - and seemed not only to be indifferent to, but to actually enjoy - the suffering of so many animals. She described having to avoid the local grocery store, because she would weep at the sight of meat displayed in the cases. She didn't know how to interact with friends and family that ate meat, and wondered if the best thing to do was to cut them out of her life.
This letter may seem extreme (and in fact, many letters to the editor accused the letter of being fake - because the readers couldn't imagine anyone feeling that much compassion for animal flesh wrapped in styrofoam and cellophane), but many of us can relate to the basic problem. When we first start to realize the interdependence of all beings, and we start to see the suffering in the world, it can be overwhelming. Maybe you aren't reduced to tears in the meat aisle, but you find it hard to watch the news without feeling demoralized. Maybe reports of global climate change make you wonder what you can do, and whether it is worthwhile to do anything at all. Maybe you don't know how to handle your sadness over natural disasters, wars, and poverty. Or maybe it's just the suffering you see on the streets, or in the hospital you work at. As the letter writer describes, compassion can make it very difficult to be in the world. It hurts too much to be aware of all that suffering. It is too confusing to realize how much you contribute to it, and how much all of your friends and family contribute to it, either though action (like eating meat, in the letter writer's case) or inaction (by being complicit in a society that seems to endorse and sponsor suffering).
In any case, reading this letter reminded me of something I haven't talked about much in this class, although I eluded to it with our strong core, open heart breathing practice.
The idea is simple, and it has two parts: First, you can't fix the world, because the world rests on the experience and intentions and actions of everything that has ever happened. The world is as it should be, as it can only be. It is always changing, in a million small ways, and your intentions and actions matter. But they aren't all powerful, all reaching.
Second, universal compassion - seeing the suffering in the world and wishing peace for all beings - can only be tolerated if it is supported by a practice dedicated to understanding and ending your own suffering. Otherwise, the compassion will overwhelm you, render you incapable of both action and connection, because you *can't* end the suffering of all beings. (Even as I write this, that is difficult for me to accept - I still carry my idealism to the practice of yoga, and the flip side of idealism: believing that the world, as it is, is somehow broken.)
What does it mean to have a practice dedicated to understanding and ending your own suffering? In Buddhism (which as a philosophy, deals with this challenge of universal compassion more directly than yogic philosophy does), the "wisdom" side of the practice (which balances compassion practices) is described as having three parts:
1) Listening. This includes any form of learning from others, such as reading and studying with teachers. 2) Reflection. This includes trying understanding a situation or challenge, and simply paying attention to your own behaviors and emotions. 3) Meditation.
This Buddhist teaching corresponds to practices described in the Yoga Sutras: self-study (which consisting of listening to the wisdom of those who have walked the path before you, and reflection on your own experiences) and the many levels of meditation, including awareness, concentration, and insight. All of these practices allow us to see how we create our own suffering and cause others suffering. They teach us how to live our lives with ahimsa (causing less harm to ourselves and others), and that is the best we can do.
At its core, I would simplify these wisdom practices, from both the Buddhist and yoga traditions, even more. The fundamental wisdom practice that provides the strength to support compassion is breath awareness as a meditation practice. So if you don't have that as the foundation of your personal practice, that is where you start. Add it to the beginning and end of your asana practice. Practice it before a meal. Practice it when you wait in line. Make it like the backbone of your existence in the world. Let it prop you up in the face of difficulty. (It is no coincidence that breath awareness meditation is traditionally taught with emphasis on maintaining an upright spine.)
All of the practices I have shared with you so far in this online class have been from the compassion side. I realized this imbalance when I read the letter to the advice columnist. Connection needs to be supported with these wisdom practices.
In last year's class, we focused very much on the wisdom side of yoga practices. So, this week I "open the vault". If you did not participate in last year's class, you now have access to the archives. There are many wisdom-type practices described, including many that related to yogic ethics and how to apply them to everyday life. But really, breath awareness as a meditation is the foundation of wisdom practices. That would be enough. The archives are for further exploration and inspiration.
To access the archives, go to: http://www.openmindbody.com/emailclass/archive.htm the login name is: yoga the password is: 2005
Take care, Kelly
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