Oops. For third dharma : > O read third noble truth :>) DC -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rod Sent: Wednesday 14 December 2005 10:25 To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [Zen] Conditioning, Analysis, Release As infants and children, we are heavily dependent upon our parents or minders and whether we like it or not, learn from them at a deeply subconscious level. I think this is programmed into us from the animal kingdom when our very survival depended upon the ability to learn from adults in the family or social group. This ability both to take careful note of the behaviour of others and act accordingly, whether by impersonation or by reaction in what we believed to be in our own best interests at the time, was a powerful tool in our survival.
This is fine as far as beneficial modes of behaviour are concerned but problems arise when we take on board "unhealthy" conditioning from those around us. In the animal kingdom where survival of the fittest rules, an over-abundance of detrimental habits would probably be dealt with either by genetic variation or extinction(!) but because humans are not always prey to the rules of the animal kingdom, we have a choice, at least later in life when we become more independent. However, to acknowledge there is a choice at all is difficult because by the time we are adults, conditioned behaviour has become so deep-rooted and apparently natural that we rarely question it. Consequently, the first challenge comes in recognising that there is a choice at all and secondly, releasing the behaviour that we deem inappropriate or obsolete. Often we do not do this but cling to outmoded responses because we think "our survival depends upon it". Usually, we persist with this behaviour until something catastrophic occurs (the collapse of a relationship, perhaps) and the framework fails to cope and breaks down, or perhaps we cannot quite put our finger on it but "something doesn't feel right" (the mid-life crisis). And this is where the analysis comes in. Before we can truly "be" (ourselves), we have to question who we are in the first place and relinquish what we are not. This may seem self-evident but as I have written before, I think there are many who have no idea of the extent to which they live their lives conditionally rather than spontaneously and it is only under the careful re-assessment of behavioural patterns that we can then release the redundant in order to begin the search for our true nature. Consequently, I tend to agree with you Ian that the two go together and that you cannot have one (release) without the other (analysis) and as a consequence, I am not sure you can reach your core nature without first going through some sort of analytical process. Otherwise, how do you know what to relinquish even if, later, you then have to surrender the very tool (the analytical mind) that you used to achieve your current state ;>) (I jest, it has been said in these pages quite recently that the analytical mind should not be demonized, but used appropriately). Make no mistake, our conditioning plays a huge part in colouring our perception of the world, even though the mechanistic world view would have us believe it is "fixed". I am no Zen scholar and this is very much a psychotherapeutic approach to the third dharma so thanks for quoting that Ian, I enjoyed it very much. DC -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ian Johanson Sent: Tuesday 13 December 2005 05:26 To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [Zen] Should Rich People be Happy? > >Irrespective of financial wealth, there is a state accessible to most (I >would like to think), where we can feel at the very least content and at >best allow happiness and joy to flourish. Through a certain amount of >self-analysis, I have over the years had the pleasure of witnessing a >profound change in my perception of the world in which I live; indeed, I now >believe that I actually create that world. In order to achieve this, I have >managed to strip away the conditioning of my past to find underneath a >spontaneous and joyful appreciation of life that has to date been >suppressed. "So what did you find?" you might ask, or perhaps, "what >psycho-emotional construct did you build?" Well actually, I found nothing >and I built nothing since in truth I believe I have done nothing other than >"let go". Please correct me if I am mistaken, but it seems to me that this >approach is also at the core of Zen and the non-grasping mind. Very well said, thanks - this is also what I am gradually learning as well. It is the Third NT, after all: "And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of stress: the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving. " It's interesting that you mention a certain amount of self-analysis. Could you expand a bit on that? I'm thinking the analysis and the letting go, work together. Ian Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi _____ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS * Visit your group "ZenForum <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum> " on the web. * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> * Your use of Yahoo! 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