Everything around me

Treehugger

So, I've been dealing with this issue for a while. Whenever I'm going for walks, I often times feel that what is around me really isn't there, or I'm disconnected from it. It feels like I am not aware of anything around me.

Is it possible that I'm feeling that there should be something "clearer" and "more real", and it is dissatisfaction with what I am seeing that is causing me to feel so distant?

Stephen

Sounds more like a question for a psychologist to me.

DhammaDhatu

Treehugger wrote: »

So, I've been dealing with this issue for a while. Whenever I'm going for walks, I often times feel that what is around me really isn't there, or I'm disconnected from it. It feels like I am not aware of anything around me.

Is it possible that I'm feeling that there should be something "clearer" and "more real" and it is dissatisfaction with what I am seeing that is causing me to feel so distant?

Hi Treehugger

The Buddha taught at sense contact there naturally arises feeling.

There are three kinds of feeling that can arise, namely, pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling and neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling.

When pleasant feeling arises at sense contact, for a mind lacking in mindfulness & ready wisdom, delight, love, lust, greed, etc, will arise from that pleasant feeling.

When unpleasant feeling arises at sense contact, for a mind lacking in mindfulness & ready wisdom, hatred, anger, etc, will arise from that unpleasant feeling.

When neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling arises at sense contact, for a mind lacking in mindfulness & ready wisdom, confusion, delusion, dissatisfaction, etc, will arise from that neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling.

The Buddha taught all conditioned things are impermanent. For example, if I observe a beautiful flower continuously, the sense of beauty will surely cease at some time. Or if I eat delicious food continously, surely soon enough I will feel sick.

So sometimes pleasant feeling will cease in the mind towards things that normally give rise to pleasant feelings. When this occurs, generally, neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling will replace the pleasant feeling.

The arising of neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling is something very subtle and naturally leads to confusion & dissatisfaction when a mind has not developed mindfulness & ready wisdom.

What I am discussing here is the essence of Buddhist practice, that is, having mindfulness & ready wisdom (sati-sampajanna) at sense contact & feeling.

So what you are experiencing is normal & ordinary. Developing mindfulness, ready wisdom & calmness through meditation is the remedy for this.

When the mind is clear & calm, it can go beyond the sense of 'distance' created by the arising of neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling.

Instead of having the sense of connectedness most people have via pleasant feeling, a deeper sense of connectness can be found by developing mental tranquility, clarity & ready wisdom in meditation.

Kind regards

DDhatu



Also, if using drugs, like marijuana, the down side is the increase of these neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feelings.

DhammaDhatu

Dhamma Dhatu wrote: »

When neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling arises at sense contact, for a mind lacking in mindfulness & ready wisdom, confusion, delusion, dissatisfaction, etc, will arise from that neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling.

Hi Treehugger

The following words of the Buddha may be difficult to understand but they are about what I have mentioned to you.

"Dependent on the eye & forms there arises consciousness at the eye. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as a requisite condition, there arises what is felt either as pleasure, pain or neither pleasure nor pain.

If, when touched by a feeling of neither pleasure nor pain, one does not discern, as it actually is present, the origination, passing away, allure, drawback or escape from that feeling, then one's ignorance-obsession gets obsessed.

Without uprooting ignorance-obsession with regard to a feeling of neither pleasure nor pain —without abandoning ignorance and giving rise to clear knowing — that a person would put an end to suffering & stress in the here & now: such a thing isn't possible.

Chachakka Sutta: The Six Sextets

DhammaDhatu

Dhamma Dhatu wrote: »

What I am discussing here is the essence of Buddhist practice, that is, having mindfulness & ready wisdom (sati-sampajanna) at sense contact & feeling.

Hi Treehugger

Also, this dhamma talk, called The ABCs of Buddhism, may possibly be helpful.

:smilec:

"When, Ananda, a person is skilled in the elements, skilled in the sense bases, skilled in dependent origination, skilled in what is possible and what is impossible, in that way he can be called a wise man and an inquirer."

The Buddha

Stephen

Dhamma Dhatu wrote: »

Hi Treehugger

The Buddha taught at sense contact there naturally arises feeling.

There are three kinds of feeling that can arise, namely, pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling and neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling.

When pleasant feeling arises at sense contact, for a mind lacking in mindfulness & ready wisdom, delight, love, lust, greed, etc, will arise from that pleasant feeling.

When unpleasant feeling arises at sense contact, for a mind lacking in mindfulness & ready wisdom, hatred, anger, etc, will arise from that unpleasant feeling.

When neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling arises at sense contact, for a mind lacking in mindfulness & ready wisdom, confusion, delusion, dissatisfaction, etc, will arise from that neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling.

The Buddha taught all conditioned things are impermanent. For example, if I observe a beautiful flower continuously, the sense of beauty will surely cease at some time. Or if I eat delicious food continously, surely soon enough I will feel sick.

So sometimes pleasant feeling will cease in the mind towards things that normally give rise to pleasant feelings. When this occurs, generally, neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling will replace the pleasant feeling.

The arising of neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling is something very subtle and naturally leads to confusion & dissatisfaction when a mind has not developed mindfulness & ready wisdom.

What I am discussing here is the essence of Buddhist practice, that is, having mindfulness & ready wisdom (sati-sampajanna) at sense contact & feeling.

So what you are experiencing is normal & ordinary. Developing mindfulness, ready wisdom & calmness through meditation is the remedy for this.

When the mind is clear & calm, it can go beyond the sense of 'distance' created by the arising of neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling.

Instead of having the sense of connectedness most people have via pleasant feeling, a deeper sense of connectness can be found by developing mental tranquility, clarity & ready wisdom in meditation.

Kind regards

DDhatu



Also, if using drugs, like marijuana, the down side is the increase of these neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feelings.

If he wasn't confused before, he probably is now.

DhammaDhatu

Stephen wrote: »

If he wasn't confused before, he probably is now.

For those wishing to understand the subtleties of suffering, what I posted is very important.

If anyone can explain more clearly & practically, they are naturally welcome.

There is more to life than the pleasant feelings of dreaming about 'our' next rebirth.

When feeling-perception breakdown occurs, the spiritual doctor (the Buddha) naturally has a remedy.

:smilec:

DhammaDhatu

Option 1: sense experience > strange feeling > confusion/disinfatuation > attachment > becoming > "I" feel distant > suffering

Option 2: sense experience > strange feeling > confusion/disinfatuation > mindfulness & ready wisdom > non-attachment > no becoming > no ego obsession > peace of mind :smilec:

Option 3: sense experience > strange feeling > mindfulness & ready wisdom > peace of mind

Option 4: sense experience > mindfulness & ready wisdom > peace of mind

"Whoever sees dependent co-arising sees the Dhamma; whoever sees the Dhamma sees dependent co-arising."

And these things — the five aggregates subject to clinging — are dependently co-arisen. Any desire, embracing, grasping & holding-on to these five aggregates is the origination of stress. Any subduing of desire & passion, any abandoning of desire & passion for these five aggregates is the cessation of stress.'

And even to this extent, friends, the person has accomplished a great deal."

The Buddha

Treehugger

Well, it's comforting to know that I don't have a psychological issue :P. Sazen, sazen, and more sazen appears to be the only thing I can do for now

PS, Dhamma Datu, I mostly understood what you wrote.

DhammaDhatu

Treehugger wrote: »

Well, it's comforting to know that I don't have a psychological issue :P. Sazen, sazen, and more sazen appears to be the only thing I can do for now

PS, Dhamma Datu, I mostly understood what you wrote.

Thank you Tree Hugger.

There is gross suffering and subtle suffering.

Develop awareness. Develop trust in the mind.

Tosh

Thanks, DD, I liked what you wrote; I'm off to visit the link you posted.