PACIFIC WORLD - The Institute of Buddhist Studies

Studstill: Cybernetic Approach to Dzogchen 355detachment from self: calming the internal narrative undermines the self,since the self is to some degree an ongoing construction of that narrative. 203Attachment is directly opposed by the general Buddhist emphasis ondetachment. In the case of Dzogchen, however, detachment is a natural byproductof the Dzogchen view; the more deeply one internalizes theconviction that everything constitutes the unconditional presencing ofBeing (Tib. gzhi), the more this subverts the discriminating tendencies thatsupport attachment and self. In Dzogchen, detachment is not just a matterof trying to “be detached” (though this is part of it), but of constructing aconceptual framework that reorients attitudes and behaviors in ways thatdeconstruct the ordinary, conditional perspective that is at the root ofattachment. On the bodhisattva path, for example, the suffering of beingpublicly insulted (generated by one’s attachment to a self-image) is reframedas a precious opportunity to practice one’s bodhisattva vows toward theachievement of enlightenment. The entire bodhisattva path encourages(among other things) an attitude of embracing the discomfort created bydissonance, which ultimately functions as a way to deconstruct the conditionsand attachments that cause dissonance. The Buddhist (and thereforeDzogchen) emphasis on compassion may also function as a means ofundermining evaluative conditions. Because evaluative conditions areexternally represented by judgment and hostility toward others (throughthe projection of the shadow), to cultivate compassion toward thosepersons is to undermine one’s own evaluative conditions, and in theprocess allow the re-integration of repressed material back into the psyche.An important variable of the cognitive system is the internal narrative.By continuously reiterating various aspects of the mind’s conceptualinventory, it helps to construct the self-image as well as our perception of“things” in a “world.” The internal narrative also functions as a homeostaticprocess by regulating dissonance in order to preserve cognitiveconstructs. In this respect, the internal narrative inhibits awareness ofdissonant inputs, or may function to “load” (to use Charles Tart’s term)consciousness with images and concepts to counteract dissonant inputs.Both processes are aspects of the more general tendency to be mentallyabstracted, i.e., removed from the immediacy of the present moment andengrossed in fantasy and the ongoing plots and plans of the ego. Dzogchenmeditation directly undercuts this cognitive variable by involving effortsto pacify and empty the mind and reorient attention to the present moment.Another element of the Dzogchen path functions to further subverthomeostatic processes. A common dissonance-reduction strategy is to“numb” awareness or dampen the pain associated with dissonance throughdistraction-seeking behaviors, or ingestion of mood-altering substances.The ideal lifestyle of a Dzogchen practitioner would tend to minimize, ifnot eliminate, both these strategies. Subverting dissonance avoidance inturn increases dissonance or stress on the cognitive system. In other words,