Reality's Feedback
By Gustavo Gitti
If you punch a wall, it hurts, but the wall has done nothing except reveal its nature in relation to our movement. Our suffering is a kind of feedback mechanism from reality itself.
Suffering arises from an inadequate relationship with the world, similar to what would happen if a blindfolded person walked through an exhibition of glass, crystals, and beautiful pointed objects: what could be a source of delight begins to cut us. In the same way, if we ignore the impermanent, free, open, fluid, ungrasping nature of life, we suffer whenever that freedom presents itself dancing in front of us.
If I look at a blue sky, fall in love with it, take photographs, and become fascinated by that specific luminous tone, I will feel betrayed when the sky changes. "Sky, why did you do this to me? Where did you go? Come back, please." But the sky did nothing. I was the one who became fixed and built a relationship based on ignorance, on not recognizing what a sky is. We do the same with people, places, objects, situations.
When we operate without wisdom, we give power to anything to betray us. We will feel betrayed by life at the moment of death, by others, by objects. But nothing is betraying us; we are simply not perceiving the impermanent and dynamic nature of phenomena.
A good example of a clear relationship is the one we have with a film at the cinema. It is rare for a film to end and someone to panic during the credits: "My god... What happened? They were about to succeed... Why are these little letters appearing? I was with them, how do I find them to continue?" No, we stand up with complete calm, without even needing to think "This is a film." When we know a film is a film, there is no absolute suffering: even with a swollen, wet face, we stand up, go to the bathroom, smile, and soon think about dinner.
In this sense, suffering is reality's message, it is the way our buddha nature finds to wake us up. It is a blessing. Suffering ensures we will never remain trapped for long. Since our mind is vast, whenever we try to narrow it we become dissatisfied: dissatisfaction is protective. Suffering is space invading the bubbles, reality pulling the rug out from under our delusions, life telling us: "control doesn't work," "see? attachment creates pain," "you are so much wider than this identity you are assuming." Without suffering, we would remain forever in some bubble. Suffering ensures we will not rest until we realize the deepest wisdom that sees directly into the nature of reality. Suffering guarantees our awakening.
Want to go deeper into this vision?
O Lugar is starting a 12-week online study group on the vision of wisdom beyond bubbles and fixations, based on the book The Power of an Open Question by the wonderful Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel.