Wisdom & Mindfulness

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Deaf and blind | Ignorance of ignorance

“Not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance is the death of knowledge.” Alfred North Whitehead

Ignorance of ignorance is said to be the cause of our perpetual suffering, but what is ‘that’ which we don’t know?

The doors to the world open through our senses but it is our mind that makes the puzzle whole.

You may think that is good enough but what you encounter, turns out, is not what it appears to be, why?

Not only does our mind fails to interprets stimuli AS IS, it distorts and taints what it receives. 

That goes both ways

Oblivious to our mind innerworkings, we miss it takes shortcuts, overlooks details, and heavily relies on past experiences to translate information.

Unfortunately, it does not stop at that, we ignore how it computes and integrates cues incredibly fast.

Our mind joins the dots, puts it into a story, we are unconscious of the process, but we buy into it.

Hardly ever do we question whether the narrative is valid nor do we doubt the meaning it renders.

You do not know that you do not know

“When we talk of ignorance, it has nothing to do with stupidity. In a way, ignorance is very intelligent, but it is an intelligence that works exclusively in one direction. That is, we react exclusively to our own projections instead of simply seeing what is there.” Chögyam Trungpa

Our experiences moment after moment, pleasant and unpleasant, are the fruits of our mind creation.

Bombarded by cues coming from every direction, it filters, sifts, selects, names and ties together, there’s no thinking on our part.

With high-speed efficacy, meaning is imputed based on the bank of information it has in store, what we call store-consciousness.

That is where positive, negative, and neutral experiences are recorded for later use, that bears on everything.

Protect & Serve

Our mind’s primary occupation is to identify danger, no wonder our traumas take priority in long-term memory.

Once it spots a potential problem it calls it, alerting our nervous system, that’s how aversion pops-up.

As nervousness takes over, body and mind are highjacked, the impulse to act heightens, warranted or not.

We don’t suspect our mind relied on similarities to make predictions, instead we accept the interpretation as absolute truth, that’s dangerous.

Habits runs the place

“Real ignorance is having no knowledge of yourself, no perception of how your mind works, of what your motives, your responses are.” Jiddu Krishnamurti

Have you ever made judgement on someone and found out later you were way off mark? We all have.

Why? Because we are not in touch with reality, until we internalize that fact, we’ll make the mistake again. 

It is a challenge considering we trust and rely on our senses, heart, and mind to paint a true picture.

To wean ourselves from the habit, we must expose the reasons behind our lapses of judgment, so we’re convinced.

Projections Projections

For one, we fail to spot how past experiences serves to determine what’s what, think of your traumas.

Second, the meaning given to specific situations may change dependent on the conditions and mindset.

Third, once an event is labelled, we forget its projected outcome is tentative, and like everything else temporary.

Finally, we are positive our mind’s assessment is accurate, when it is only an approximation, the product of expeditious mental functions. 

A Carnival Mirror

“Through the causal relations of greedy craving and ignorance, the world that is seen is all upside-down.” Tony Page, Kosho Yamamoto

Imagine an undiagnosed eye disease. A nearsighted person sees objects clearer up close but blurred from afar.

In contrast, farsighted individuals perceive objects perfectly from a distance but lose focus the nearer it gets.

Without corrective lenses, the picture we get back is not true to form, yet we may be totally unaware.

Ignorance of ignorance means the lens of our ‘mind’s eye’ is not clear, unknowing we go about careless.

Ignorance of Ignorance | distorted view

The Buddha taught that whatever appears to us internally and externally is the byproduct of our mind.

If the mirror of our mind delivers back a reflection obscured by past experiences, we need fresh eyes.

So, in keeping with the teachings, before taking as true our mind’s take, we must examine its realness.

Thich Nhat Hanh encouraged this practice by inspiring his students to ask the question, “Are you sure?”

A case of misrepresentation

“Whatever faults there are in this world Their root is ignorance.” Tsongkhapa

Our mind may be crying wolf for no reason, we won’t know if we don’t make sure, so stop, revisit.

Do not try to justify or confirm your discomfort, rather ask, does it evoke a memory?

Our store-consciousness is filled with imprints of emotional and physical harm, stressors.

As long as these remain hidden, they hold the power to blemish our outlook, influence reality.

Ignorance of ignorance | The dark side of the mind

Sounds like nonsense? consider the possibility that your mind may be the cause of your troubles.

Do not brush-off the idea, most of us have learned early to burry pain deep inside and forget it.

History pills up like garbage, concealed, it obscures present experiences, distorts projections.

Unless we spend alone-time to explore, we will not be able to tell what led to the mental state.

Insight takes a clear mind

“The reason that we meditate is to transform our confused mind: to change our ignorance into wisdom, our erroneous beliefs into true knowledge.” Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

Our Lifestyle leaves very little space for introspection, seating quietly sounds like a luxury but it’s vital.

Remember, the more hectic your life, the more strenuous the conditions, the higher our nervousness.

Under strain our mind is asked to perform at its best and we expect it will deliver, question is what?

For us to discover the answer we meditate, away from the noise, we can better observe and assess. 

Eavesdrop

Have you ever stopped and listened to the running commentary that goes on and on in your mind?

All kind of thoughts come up uninvited, some benign others bothersome, fact is, our mind is rarely quiet.

Very little can spark mental chatter, a sure sign our mind has locked on a thing that set the alarm off.

Also, feelings always come with a waterfall of thoughts, don’t get carried away, seek, check what made your mind jump.

Get out of Jail Card

“Break through the shell of ignorance.” Medicine Buddha

Buddha pointed at ignorance as the father of our troubles, not knowing it, we perpetuate it ad nauseum.

Our mind runs a show of illusions, nothing appears in its true colors, lacking wisdom we swallow it.

We must awaken from the fantasy and understand that it is our mind that makes good, bad and trivial.

Better assume that our outlook is blemished as it goes down the pipes, than to act and suffer later.

Bounce Back

Reality as it unfolds is subjective, dependent on the beholder, his motivation, mindset, and awareness.

Perception is a funny thing, move an inch and the frame shifts, imagine trading places with other observers. 

Breathe, take your blinders off, analyze the situation from afar, zoom out you will get a better angle.  

Get back to reality, use your intelligence, question your point of view, turn on the light, dispel the fog. 

Take care of your mindset, let yourself have moments of clarity, they will bring you ease, help yourself, it will help others see clearlyॐ

Nathalie Bizawi, founder of Wisdom & Mindfulness meditation center. Senior Meditation, Mindfulness and philosophy instructor, From Wingate Academic College. M.A in Education from TAU University, Tel Aviv.

Wisdom & Mindfulness your meditation center in Tel Aviv