by Bridget Rolens
When I teach mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) classes, I describe the stress reaction in this way: When the mind perceives a threat, it triggers the stress reaction (fight, flight or freeze). Muscles tighten, heart rate and blood pressure increase, and the mind becomes hyper alert to the perceived danger. When the mind perceives that the threat has been removed, it returns the mind and body to a relaxed state. This process served our hunter-gatherer ancestors well. It helped them react quickly to the dangers that threatened death or serious injury.
In today’s world, there are relatively few immediate threats of death or injury during a typical day. And, yet, many live with chronic stress. Why is that? Today the “threat” is more likely to be problems that cannot be immediately resolved such as the state of the economy or the political conflicts within and between countries. On a personal level, the threat may be job insecurity or relationship problems. Because these kinds of “threats” trap a person in the stress reaction without any relief, chronic stress results.
It is natural that a person suffering from chronic stress would seek relief from the unpleasant or even painful feelings produced by the stress reaction. Unfortunately, this can result in compulsive behaviors that develop into addictions. We see this not only in addiction to substances such as alcohol, nicotine and recreational drugs. We see it in eating disorders, gambling addictions, unrestrained “retail therapy” and even compulsive use of social media – none of which actually relieve the stress in any reliable way and, in fact, create more stress.
The Buddha seems to address this dilemma in a beautiful passage from the Dhammapada:
They go to many a refuge,
to mountains and forests,
to park and tree shrines:
people threatened with danger.
That’s not the secure refuge,
not the supreme refuge,
that’s not the refuge,
having gone to which,
you gain release
from all suffering and stress.
But when, having gone
to the Buddha, Dhamma,
and Sangha for refuge,
you see with right discernment
the four noble truths —
suffering,
the cause of suffering,
the transcending of suffering,
and the noble eightfold path,
the way to the stilling of suffering:
that’s the secure refuge,
that, the supreme refuge,
that is the refuge,
having gone to which,
you gain release
from all suffering & stress.
— Dhp 188-192
The Buddha begins with the image of people threatened with danger trying to find refuge. In today’s world we might translate that as people trying to find relief from the stress that comes from the demands and pressures of daily life. There are wholesome ways of relieving stress: physical exercise; connecting with friends; engaging in leisure activities that distract us from the stress and give us pleasure; spending time in nature; getting good sleep. Unfortunately there are also unwholesome ways of relieving stress (described above). But no matter what actions we take, helpful or harmful, they are just a temporary refuge from stress, not a refuge, having gone to which, you gain release from all stress/suffering.
Why not? They only treat the “symptoms” of suffering, not the cause of suffering.They are like the Tylenol we take to relieve the pain of an infected wound. We feel better temporarily, but the pain comes back when the Tylenol wears off. What we really need is an antibiotic to heal the infection. This does not mean that we give up our Tylenol (wholesome actions) when suffering from infection. But it would be wise to find a doctor who can prescribe an antibiotic.
The Buddha is such a physician. His therapy is outlined in four tasks that lead us to freedom from suffering. These four are usually translated as “noble truths.” But Stephen Batchelor observes that the earliest texts describing this sure refuge did not use the word “truths.” The teaching is not about believing a truth, but rather, about four tasks that must be undertaken to come to the “refuge, having gone to which, you gain release from all suffering and stress.
The first task is to understand “Dukkha.” In order to find a cure, one must first accurately diagnose the problem. The Pali word dukkha is often translated as suffering. But a better translation might be unsatisfying, unreliable, un-easeful. Consider for a moment: is there anything about your body, relationships, possessions, or socio-economic status, that can be relied upon for a once-and-for-all safe harbor where you can never be touched again by suffering and stress? To understand dukkha is to understand the human predicament. Everyone experiences aging, illness and death. We have to associate with what we don’t like and be parted from what we do like. We don’t always get what we want. And because everything is constantly changing there is an element of loss that weaves through a human life. Does anything our Western, capitalist culture tries to sell us as a refuge from the dukkha inherent in life really live up to its promises? The more we understand the truth of dukkha the more likely we are to see through the false refuges offered by the world and seek a more reliable refuge.
The second task is to abandon craving. To be healed one must comply with the appropriate therapy. Our culture says that the way to happiness is to satisfy our cravings. If we pay close attention, we’ll notice that every time we feed a craving, there is a moment of release from the craving but sooner or later it comes back. Feeding cravings is like throwing fuel on a fire. It just gets bigger. If you want a fire to extinguish, you have to stop feeding it. The children’s book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff describes this process. If you give a mouse a cookie, the book explains, then it will ask you for a glass of milk, and then a straw, and then a napkin — beginning a cycle of requests that doesn’t end even when the book does. How do we abandon craving? With mindfulness we recognize when craving is present and let go of the attachment or clinging to the object of craving. We practice restraint with pleasurable activities. We can investigate it like a scientist; get really interested in just what a craving is; see how it comes and goes without us having to do anything about it other than watch the wave crest and diminish all on its own.
The third task is to experience the release, the unbinding, the spaciousness that results from letting go of clinging. When one completes the prescribed therapy, one experiences the joy of being cured. The teacher Taraniya Ambrosia says: “The mind’s not stupid. When it gets good, clean data about the consequence of letting go of craving it naturally inclines towards release from suffering”.
The fourth task is to undertake the training outlined in the Noble 8-fold path. Now that one knows how to diagnose and treat the illness, one can take preventative measures to ensure health. The compassionate physician known as the Buddha has left us with a guide to health that focuses on avoiding actions that harm others and ourselves, training the mind to see through delusion and developing a wise understanding of the truth of the way things are.
Thus, through these four tasks, the Buddha guides us in diagnosing the problem, prescribing the medicine, effecting a cure and preventing suffering in the future – a refuge having gone to which, we gain release from all suffering & stress.
Bridget Rolens teaches mindfulness meditation as a spiritual practice and as a tool for stress reduction. She will lead an online retreat for Mid America Dharma in the Spring of 2023.
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