How exactly did Siddhartha Gautama, known in his time as Gautama, the Sage of the Sakyas, plan to keep his promise to spare us from “sickness, old age and death”? He was either lying to us, speaking figuratively or, something else. In the West, with the prophets and even Jesus they take the “allegory” route. They didn’t mean those stories as actual fact but to have some deep spiritual meaning. Some Buddhists do this too since many of the stories and fanciful and full of gods and goddesses and the thirty-three heavens.
Except, the Buddha left some science behind along with the stories.
This new science detailed the complex relationship between thought and emotion and thought and the physical body. These were practices designed to train the subject in increasing awareness and control of thought over the body and emotion. The goal is equanimity, an untroubled heart, complete NONREACTIVITY to all externals, all things outside our control. Not uncaring detachment, We remain always compassionate, always dedicated to helping others but we are internally unmoved even as our own deaths approach.
That these practices arose thousands of years ago in a religious context does not change the fact that it is science before science was a thing. In the West science was just beginning to flower. The ancients did not have our understanding of how the brain and nervous system functions, but he knew that if you did (a), (b) and © that (d) would happen. It makes no difference if you talk of chakras, meridians, chi, prana, or nerve clusters what remains is, it works and has worked for thousands of years. If it did not, we would not still be teaching it. It does not matter if you believe that an airliner flies because it is held up by fairies or the laws of aerodynamics the fact is the damn thing flies and that is all that matters.
Our emotions and our thoughts are tied closely together through a nerve called the “vagus nerve”. The vagus nerve is a thick T1 cable between our neo-cortex and the enteric nervous system located in our gut and solar plexus where we “feel” emotion. If you have ever had a “gut” feeling, an experience which was “visceral,” or you have “butterflies” in your stomach … well you know what I am talking about. Emotion and thought are bound tightly together. If you can control thought, you can control emotion and you CAN control thought.
Next Section: Real Practice
Let us experiment. The next time you feel loss, sadness or anger go to your meditation space or some quiet place. Sit down. Back straight and begin your yogic breathing. Slow, regular in and out through the nose. Focus on this feeling. Tell yourself, in your inner voice, “I am feeling this.” Try and detach your “self” from the feeling. Now, let us say you were upset because you just lost your favorite ring. You feel “sick” over it. (Notice these expressions). The truth is we do feel nauseous when afraid, sad, or feeling a keen loss. It is this “gut brain” of ours. Now, think about the lost ring … does the feeling increase? While remaining as detached as possible … try and make the feeling grow stronger and then weaker. Just say “I’m feeling this right now” and “I understand what is happening within my mind and body.” “I am just feeling loss (or anger or sadness). Focus on the actual physical sensation, note its location, note the intensity, note changes in intensity. The key here is not just to “make it go away” but to develop a “feeling” of connection between conscious thought and the negative emotion so that it can be controlled. You will become familiar with this connection, and it will eventually become like a garment you can take on or off at will.
In this way you familiarize yourself with the separation of the mind’s experience from the body’s experience. Practice this every single time you experience a powerful negative emotion. Eventually, you will come to have a little control over it, then more control until you could, though your conscious mind to control this ordinarily, uncontrollable emotional experience.
What does this mean? It means you have developed concentration. It means you have taken a big step toward developing mindfulness. More practically, it means that you now have the tools to achieve serenity and to no longer be like a leaf in the wind blown hither and fro by events outside of your control.
