Good morning friends!
I hope you all had a great weekend. Today we’re opening a week’s study on the Philosophy of Peace. We’re going to approach this subject like a widening circle—beginning with the cultivation of individual, inner peace, then moving out into various philosophies of how we are to live peacefully with one another.
I believe we’ll find that these two perspective share much more overlap than one might think.
Today, we begin with a look at Buddhist Philosophy.
Thought
Just as a rocky mountain is not moved by storms, so sights, sounds, tastes, smells, contacts and ideas, whether desirable or undesirable, will never stir one of steady nature, whose mind is firm and free.
Anguttara Nikaya VI, 55
If we can think back a few weeks ago, we covered the Buddha’s teaching on the Eight Fold Path and suffering. One of the largest gifts given by the Buddha was the clarified notion that suffering does exists and can be resolved.
Understanding suffering is the key to understanding inner peace. It’s most important to note that according to Buddhist tradition, suffering does not equal pain or discomfort.
Rather, suffering is the mental anguish one experiences in resisting pain, or fighting pleasure, or being attached to one way of life over the other. It’s the result of a mind filled with judgements—this is good, this is bad, I want this over that etc.
Buddhism rather teaches equanimity, or the middle path. This is a state of equal parts pain, equal parts pleasure. These are both natural states in life. Suffering comes in the controlling or judging these states as better or worse than the other.
When we are capable of accepting these states as they come and go, mold and meld, our mind becomes a steady focal point in a sea of change. Attempting to understand or control that change, that leads to suffering.
Backstory
Have you ever taken a cold shower? (On purpose I mean) Or deliberately jumped into a freezing body of water? Scientific research is suggesting that you should consider it.
Please don’t take this as anything more than an interesting idea to study more on your own (i.e I’m very much not a doctor or scientist) but in my personal study I’ve recently come across an interesting potential connection between abrupt changes in climate and mood health.
There is early evidence that we as homo sapiens have evolved with a certain built in range of temperatures that we can tolerate. In fact, it appears that our nervous system is expecting this stress to occur regularly.
It’s only been recently that we have buffered ourselves from the various changes in weather through indoor Air Conditioning and insulation.
There is some evidence to support the idea that when we fail to stress our nervous system regularly with this range of temperatures, it can lead to periods of anxiety as our fight or flight system isn’t being worked out.
Temperature range exposure is almost like going to the gym for the nervous system, it keeps everything firing normally and in a healthy way. Without these periodic moments of stress and work, our nervous becomes agitated and begins firing off in ways that make us anxious and even depressed.
Perhaps the science is too early and this will turn out to be nothing more than an anecdote, but I’ve found this practice to be personally helpful in terms of mood regulation and managing anxiety, as have a few close friends who similarly struggle with periodic episodes of anxiousness.
Regardless, this idea serves as a wonderful story to illustrate how equanimity can lead to peace. We emerge from the womb ready for pleasure and pain, stress and rest, work and leisure, mental and physical challenge.
When we attempt to control our environment, become attached to certain states over others, and judge one way of being better than another, we introduce suffering and lose our steady, inner capacity for peace.
Instead, when we accept life as it comes, and embrace equanimity, we find peace.
When we’re willing to ask, “Who is to say what is good or bad” and we remain centered, we begin to see the end of suffering.
I hope this was helpful friends, and I look forward to keeping up the conversation tomorrow. Please comment and let’s start a dialogue below.
Also, share with a friend you think would like joining the conversation!
Until Tomorrow,
Matt
[PS, keep an eye out on our IG page later today, and tomorrow’s newsletter when we announce the winner of our rebrand voting!]
https://www.imsb.org/prev/teachings/equanimity.php
Peace