Psychology & Buddhism.pdf

264 David W. Chappell
Dialogue as the Practice of Social Mindfulness
Dialogue takes Buddhist mindfulness practices into the social sphere. It is a
way to become aware of the different social factors involved in our shared world
to develop a more inclusive understanding and to create new choices for action.
The Buddha’s meditation methods consisted of recognizing a plurality of
forces that shape our expectations, our habits, and our decisions. He challenged
his culture’s emphasis on a permanent, controlling ego (atman) that should be in
charge. Rather, he demonstrated how our inner self was constructed through
many factors in the learning processes, but that these processes inevitably lead to
conflict and misery when a single factor becomes dominant. This conflict can be
dissolved, however, through noticing the different elements shaping our consciousness
and recognizing the inevitable misery that arises from fixation on a
single interpretation as ultimate.
The good news is that by developing an inner transparency and inner
dialogue about our perceptions, we discover that there are choices about how to
construct our awareness, and that there are peaceful and nonpeaceful ways to perceive
and respond to our world. Mindfulness training is a method to defuse our
ego, our hurts, and our attachments, and a way to find sympathy and compassion
with others, and an arena for discovering creative new options.
In the twofold act of calming one’s mind (samatha) and seeing the interdependent
nature of all things (vipassana), meditators create a psychic space in
which they can see the role of their mental and emotional habits in shaping their
perception and can experiment with alternative ways of viewing and reacting to
the world. Balanced meditation must involve vipassana, namely, recognizing the
interconnectedness and impermanence of experience that naturally leads to a
sense nonattachment and an increased awareness of the common ground shared
with others. Out of this ground, empathy and compassion arise.
Just as mindfulness training requires stopping normal activities (samatha) to
see the factors that make up our awareness (vipassana), so developing compassion
requires taking time out to become aware of beings other than oneself. To be
effective rather than indulgent, compassion needs to be facilitated, nurtured, and
guided by “regular and frequent” dialogue. This psychological change requires
social activity.
Today in business management, the old command model of top-down management
has been replaced by an emphasis on teamwork and nurturing horizontal
relationships. When a group has a controlling person, inevitably conflict will arise.
In the political sphere, dictatorships in the twentieth century have killed more people
than all the killing in previous human history (Rummel, 1994). Peace requires
checks and balances, participation in decision-making, and the recognition of
diversity. Social peace requires recognizing and collaborating with the diversity of
people, just as inner peace requires acknowledging the pluralism within.