Monday, July 23, 2012

Living In The Insane Asylum


I recently had the pleasure to spend a few days at Birken Forest  Monastery. The monastery is tucked away in BC's high ranch land, not somewhere you'd necessarily expect to find a Buddhist monastery. But hey, Buddhism is about working with our expectations, right, so might as well start from the get-go?

As we headed up the road toward Birken we gorged on the sight of velvety green hills ( we'd already gorged on lunch to fortify ourselves for the "no food past noon rule" at Theravaden monasteries.  The temperature in the car registered 97 degrees and the wind from the open window tossed my hair about as we turned on to the gravelly, potholed part of the road for the last bit of the drive.

The weekend was steeped in silence and 5:15 wake-up bells , the whistles of marmots and the wind rattling in the poplar leaves. There is something about the way monastics hold a space. Somehow it manages to be filled with a wordless generosity and peace, both grounded and groundless, if that makes any sense.
marmots making themselves at home at Birken

I had the occasion to ask about one of my pet topics (which has been getting a bit of work out lately due to household circumstances): anger. And as all good lay people, I wanted a recipe to dispel my anger, something simple and instant and fool proof (what else would a fool want but something fool proof?) I have heard Ajahn Sona speak before and his answers always surprise me (which I love) and he did not disappoint.

"Just think of the world as an insane asylum," he suggested. "People are always doing crazy things, unskillful things all the time. You never know what they are going to do. Think of yourself as a psychiatric nurse in the insane asylum. You are never surprised because anybody might do anything at anytime."

Now we are going to think of the world as an insane asylum in the nicest of ways, right? We're not going to use this idea to make ourselves more jaundiced or jaded. Goodness knows we don't need that! We're going to use it to make ourselves more agile and skillful. We're going to use this to hone our skills of "anything can happen at anytime." We are always standing on the edge of the unknown, it's just that we're constantly forgetting that we're on the edge of this precipice.

Instead of getting angry when someone doesn't keep their word, when they do something rude or inconsiderate, we simply nod and go "yep that's what it's like in the asylum." We have compassion for the inmates of this world (and we are one of them) and some days we're the craziest one in the asylum. Sometimes the inmates' delusion or greed or hatred (just like us) gets the best of them and they do crazy stuff.

Ajahn Sona suggested doing a "surprise meditation" each morning where we take a few minutes to remind ourselves that we live in a place where anything can happen at any time. This helps us remember when the person that promised to help us, has forgotten or changed his mind, when someone cuts us off in traffic, when any number of crazy making things happens.

I realized later, rather than discussing the afflictive emotion of anger, Ajahn Sona had chosen to focus on "right view". He didn't need to advise me on the specifics of working with anger. He simply reminded me that if "we see things as they are" we won't have unrealistic expectations, we won't be disappointed when our desires are not met. The view of ourselves as the centre of the universe may actually weaken and we will feel freer, less tossed about and buffeted by the circumstances of life.
Buddha in the marsh

As I have started working at my job in the asylum  I can see how much "ego" I need to let go of to hold this view, how strong my craving to be right is. The stories of my righteous indignation seem much thinner and  more wobbly, like a spinning top, slowing down.  In the insane asylum, crazy stuff happens.  That's all I need to know, really. It's that simple.

As a post script, that doesn't mean I never take action. Sometimes the craziness requires some skillful intervention. It just means I don't need to get mad about it. I may live in the insane asylum but I don't need to make it the Cuckoo's nest.

21 comments:

  1. haha! so amazing. I often, OFTEN find myself charged with anger, suddenly knotted into indignation and I am constantly working on the 'right view'. Thank you SO much for sharing this meditation such brilliance packed in such a simple way.

    -love,
    Aarathi

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    1. yes, I have found this helpful, even amusing. and also challenging when I see just how full of self I am when I am gripped by anger.

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  2. What a strong teaching done in such a gentle way! Thanks for sharing that. I'm going to look more at myself and those around me as inmates - unpredictable, self-absorbed, a bit crazy at times; and try to have compassion for us all.

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    1. I do love this and Ajahn Sona seems to have such a way of offering surprising and helpful additions to practice!

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  3. Thanks for this perspective on life and living in this crazy world of ours. I needed that!

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    1. I think we all need this! and when we have it, I find I need to constantly remind myself. and just like a crazy person sometimes when I need it the most, that's when I least want to hear it!

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  4. Lovely post! So universally timely - especially in light of the recent traumatic events here near Denver, Colorado. Talk about needing to have compassion for the "inmates."!

    My husband often reminds me that we live in "The Matrix" - from the movie named the same - and is the same connotation as you have expressed here. I liked what you said that it's not about seeing "them" as bad or wrong, not us vs them, but about the universal condition of "ignorance" of which we are all a part - i.e. not seeing our True Nature. One of the things I've been doing lately is to ask when I get up in the morning, what is my adventure today? It helps in changing the perspective from irritation with circumstances and overwhelm with life, to seeing life (and the people in it) as a grand adventure, with everyone having their role to play - including being irritating so that I can see my own stuff. :) Amazing how that works! LOL Not always with grace mind you, but seeing happens. After saying all that, I could use some time in a lovely monastery, basking in Silence... So glad you have one nearby to take refuge in :)

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  5. I like that, seeing the day as an adventure.

    Yes, that makes perfect sense in regard to your physical proximity to what has just happened in your neighbourhood, such strong energy of craziness.

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  6. Wow. I so love your sense of humor. But to "see things as they are" fills me up with question marks. I've always felt uneasy with that phrase— kinda like I'm living in an insane asylum!

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  7. it's true, how do we know when we're seeing things as they are. someone at the retreat asked about delusion. Ajahn Sona said that because of it's very nature, we can not see when we are deluded, so what we should do is address our greed and aversion, which are usually fairly visible if we are willing to look.

    I think it is like this: when we are clear, we see things as they are. Lots of the time we are tied up with one or all of the 3 poisons.

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  8. Hmmm......great food for thought. Wish I had read this while I was still teaching! But I probably still would not have accepted late assignments.......:).....!

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  9. what your classroom an insane asylum?? I remember volunteering in my daughter's grade 5 class and it felt like I'd just come upon some sort of wolf pack!

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  10. I like the insane asylum analogy - I must be getting used to it because it feels quite normal ... until I can come home and plunk a piece of wood in the stove. Then it really feels normal.

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    1. It is a vivid analogy, isn't it. It also tweaks my funny bone a bit and I like that. And that is truly insane, to need to light a fire in July! But there it is, I have done it myself!

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  11. I have to admit with the politics here in the US.. thank goodness you are spared our crazy asylum of politics down here... that I really am living in a place surrounded by crazies..and I am one of them... thank you for giving me a good dose of wise grounding in reality.

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    1. Don't feel alone, we have our own brand of crazy politics up here! It is an interesting perspective to think in this way, isn't it? If nothing else at least we can have a sense of humour about it!

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  12. One of my favourite books is "Meeting the Madwoman." It opened me to the power of a feminine "crazy energy" that tends to be shut away in this oh-so-fact-driven world. The idea that there is an element of surprise in that power gives it new life for me. Wonderful!

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    1. If the book is half as good as the title, I'm sold. And yes with that crazy energy comes surprise, something that can wake us up and refresh us. But often I find I'm not really ready for either!!

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  13. I think that's a very good way to look at the world. As I was reading your wonderful post, I realized that I've been living from this perspective for a while, not because I'm wise or smart, but merely as a way to hold onto a shred or two of sanity. I teach 8th graders with learning and behavior disorders- possibly the strangest humans(?) on the planet. When people ask why I do this, I tell them it's because they're the only people I know who are weirder than I am! But it has taught me, in some ways, to be much more accepting of things that used to make me angry.

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  14. Ha, you have thrown yourself right into it! Most of us resist and hang on to our comfort zone. And you have made the Dharma true for yourself by finding that in fact it has made you more accepting. I was at a retreat on Sunday and the teacher said, really we each have our own brand of craziness. I love your answer about why you do what you do.

    Thanks for stopping to comment, Sharmon!

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  15. Crazy is more interesting than normal.

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